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Railroad Station next to a single track

“For the Purpose of Appointing Vigilance Committees:” Fearing Abolitionists in Central Virginia

Newspaper announcements from 1859 reveal how some Richmond slaveholders organized to protect the institution of slavery.
by Tim Talbott via Emerging Civil War on October 14, 2022
A family poses outside their homestead, somewhere out west, in the late 19th century.

How Personal Ads Helped Conquer the American West

That tradition of finding partners in the face of social isolation persists today.
by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie via Atlas Obscura on April 29, 2021

Where to Score: Classified Ads from Haight-Ashbury

From 1966-1969, the underground newspaper 'San Francisco Oracle' became exceedingly popular among counterculture communities.
by Jason Fulford, Jordan Stein via The Paris Review on March 14, 2018
An "Information Wanted" advertisement from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Courtesy of the National Archives.

Last Seen: Finding Family After Slavery

Last Seen is recovering stories of families separated in the domestic slave trade. The following explains how the project engages with these family histories.
via Villanova University on August 1, 2016
A family of formerly enslaved people outside their house in Fredericksburg, Virginia, circa 1862–1865.

The Missing Persons of Reconstruction

Enslaved families were regularly separated​. A new history chronicles the tenacious efforts of the emancipated to be reunited​ with their loved ones.
by Joshua D. Rothman via The New Republic on February 26, 2025
Cover of "The Freaks Came Out to Write"

The City in Its Grip: On Tricia Romano’s “The Freaks Came Out to Write”

Romano’s book is a vital, comprehensive piece of media scholarship about one of the most influential outlets of the last century. It’s also fun as hell to read.
by T. M. Brown via Los Angeles Review of Books on March 15, 2024
Lauren Davila, standing in front of a historical marker for slave auctions, in Charleston, South Carolina.

How a Grad Student Uncovered the Largest Known Slave Auction in the U.S.

The find yields a new understanding of the enormous harm of such a transaction.
by Jennifer Berry Hawes via ProPublica on June 16, 2023
Cartoon of Madame Restell and Mrs. Bird accompanied by a skeleton.

Female Physicians in Antebellum New York City

"Female physicians" did a lot more than provide abortions, but abortion soon encompassed how others perceived their work.
by Nicholas L. Syrett via The Panorama on November 11, 2022
A 1921 card reading: For Safety's Sake, cross this way, not here, not this way. Quit Jay Walking

The Invention of “Jaywalking”

In the 1920s, the public hated cars. So the auto industry fought back — with language.
by Clive Thompson via Medium on March 29, 2022

Reading the Black Hills Pioneer, Deadwood’s Newspaper

Here’s how the Black Hills Pioneer reported on major events in the HBO series.
by Matthew Dessem via Slate on June 2, 2019

The Dramatically Different World of ’70s Dating Ads

Before Tinder, there was “Singles News.”
by Natasha Frost via Atlas Obscura on October 27, 2017
A stone marker for a post road, slightly chipped, reading "Boston 8 miles 1734 A.I."

"To Undertake a News-Paper in This Town"

How printers in the 1770s assembled the news for their papers, how they used the postal system, and how they may have approached Twitter.
by Emily Sneff via Declaration Resources Project on September 20, 2017
Formal portrait photo of an African American wet nurse with a white child on her lap.

Historians Detail Charleston's Role in the Antebellum Market for Wet Nurses

Enslaved wet nurses were a valued purchase in the antebellum South.
by Dustin Waters via Charleston City Paper on September 6, 2017

Hunting Down Runaway Slaves: The Cruel Ads of Andrew Jackson and the 'Master Class'

A historian collecting runaway slave ads describes them as “the tweets of the master class.”
by DaNeen L. Brown via Retropolis on May 1, 2017
Beluga whales.

How P.T. Barnum Brought Beluga Whales to New York City

On museum ethics and animal welfare in 19th century America.
by Monica Murphy, Bill Wasik via Literary Hub on April 25, 2024
Mural depicting Charlotta Bass and victims of Zoot Suit Riots.

The Untold Story of the Zoot Suit Riots: How Black L.A. Defended Mexican Americans

The unity of two long-neglected communities during trying times is a reminder of what we desperately need in Los Angeles.
by Gustavo Arellano via Los Angeles Times on June 2, 2023
Black and white photo of Eugene Debs being released from an Atlanta federal prison on Christmas Day, 1921.

The American Socialism That Might Have Been

Despite their minority status, the Socialists had been a significant force in American politics before patriotic war hysteria brought on an era of repression.
by Adam Hochschild via The Nation on October 12, 2022
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, showing a castle sculpture and reading "Lullaby land"

Inside the Disneyland of Graveyards

How Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, a star-studded cemetery in Los Angeles, corporatized mourning in America.
by Greg Melville via Smithsonian on September 29, 2022
An 1878 trademark registration for Miasmine, an ineffective anti-malaria medicine. (Library of Congress)

In the 1880s, D.C.’s Doctors Argued About Malaria and Its Cause

Malaria — literally, if not scientifically, "bad air" — once claimed Washingtonians by the score. So why did some doctors believe it wasn't real?
by John F. Kelly via Washington Post on August 6, 2022
Illustration with a 1950 Raleigh bicycle

Cycles of History: On Jody Rosen’s “Two Wheels Good”

A review of how author Jody Rosen depicts the history of the bicycle, mixing the personal with the factual.
by Jonathan Liebson via Los Angeles Review of Books on June 26, 2022
Eighth graders create a group map of the United State.

What Happens to Middle School Kids When You Teach Them About Slavery? Here’s a Vivid Example.

The topic is emotional. That’s not a bad thing.
by Mary Niall Mitchell, Kate Shuster via Slate on February 10, 2022
Old photos of Civil War soldiers

Interrupted Sentiments: The Lost Letters of Civil War Soldiers

The incredible story of thousands of soldier photographs and letters that never made it home.
by Melissa A. Winn via HistoryNet on May 12, 2021
Graphic illustration of a tilted white column with a pointed white top, resembling a race, against a red background. The words: "Media Monuments and Hooded Headlines" are printed within the triangular top.

American Journalism’s Role in Promoting Racist Terror

History must be acknowledged before justice can be done.
by Channing Gerard Joseph via The Nation on April 19, 2021

Her Sentimental Properties

White women have trafficked in Black women’s milk.
by Sarah Mesle via Los Angeles Review of Books on December 22, 2020
A group of White KC Star reporters sitting at desks with paper

The Truth in Black and White: An Apology From the Kansas City Star

Today we are telling the story of a powerful local business that has done wrong.
by Mike Fannin via Kansas City Star on December 20, 2020

An Oral History of The Onion’s 9/11 Issue

Immediately after 9/11, humorists struggled with what many called ‘the death of irony.’ Then ‘The Onion’ returned and showed everyone the way
by Maria Schneider, Brian VanHooker, Robert Siegel, Todd Hanson, Mike Loew, Chad Nackers, Carol Kolb, Chris Karwowski, Tim Harrod, Mike Sacks, Nat Towsen, Joe Garden, Jim Romenesko via MEL on June 29, 2020

Did the Golden Age of Department Stores Bring Us Together?

What is now an object of nostalgia was once a symbol of soulless corporate creep.
by Stephen Eide via The American Conservative on December 21, 2018
Illustration of a man who operates the Euphonia in its female form

Mr. and Mrs. Talking Machine

The euphonia, the phonograph, and the gendering of nineteenth century mechanical speech.
by J. Martin Vest via Sounding Out on November 12, 2018

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