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John Jay painting

Slavery as Metaphor and the Politics of Slavery in the Jay Treaty Debate

The manner in which the debate unfolded is a reminder of the ways slavery affected everything it touched.
by Wendy Wong Schirmer via U.S. Intellectual History Blog on April 12, 2021
Civil Rights Act Filibuster, Washington, DC, 1964

The Filibuster, Aaron Burr, and Mitch McConnell

Just because the filibuster wasn't created to promote racial slavery doesn't mean there’s no good argument against it.
by William Hogeland via Hogeland's Bad History on March 17, 2021
Book cover for Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Chernow Gonna Chernow

A Pulitzer Prize winner punches down.
by Alexis Coe via Study Marry Kill on January 30, 2021
Wallpaper printed in support of the Constitutional Union Party’s presidential candidate, John Bell, in 1860.

A Constitution of Freedom

During the 1860 presidential election, political parties dueled over the intent of the framers.
by James Oakes via Lapham’s Quarterly on January 20, 2021
Statue of Liberty melting.

The Last Time Democracy Almost Died

By examining the upheaval of the nineteen-thirties, we can recognize similarities between today and democracy's last near-death experience.
by Jill Lepore via The New Yorker on January 27, 2020

Republicans and Democrats Are Describing Two Different Constitutions

Conservatives and liberals both cite the nation’s charter, but they’re not talking about the same parts of it.
by Julian Nyarko, David Pozen, Eric Talley via The Atlantic on June 2, 2019

How Did the Constitution Become America’s Authoritative Text?

A new history of the early republic explores the origins of originalism.
by Karen J. Greenberg via The Nation on February 7, 2019

The Strange History of the House’s 181-Year-Old Ban on Hats — and the Push to Overturn It

There isn’t any rule against tobacco spitting on the House floor, but there is one against wearing a hat.
by Ronald G. Shafer via Retropolis on January 4, 2019

Asking the Tough Questions With an 18th-Century Debate Society

Is polygamy justifiable? Is it lawful to eat swine's flesh?
by Sarah Laskow via Atlas Obscura on July 24, 2017
Corey M. Brooks, Liberty Power: Antislavery Third Parties and the Transformation of American Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016.

#FEELTHEBIRNEY

The most important third party in the history of American politics is one you may never have heard of before.
by W. Caleb McDaniel via Commonplace on September 4, 2016
William Howard Taft and Mark Twain

When Tipping Was Considered Deeply Un-American

Imported from Europe, the custom of leaving gratuities began spreading in the U.S. post-Civil War. It was loathed as a master-serf custom.
by Nina Martyris via NPR on November 30, 2015
1846 proposal for design of Washington Monument
partner

Mall Rats

The early controversy over whether or not to build the Washington Monument on the National Mall.
via BackStory on May 23, 2014
William F. Buckley reclines behind a desk, glasses in hand, a bulletin board of National Review magazine material behind him.

The Conservative Intellectual Who Laid the Groundwork for Trump

The political vision that William F. Buckley helped forge was—and remains today—focused less on adhering to principles and more on ferreting out enemies.
by Jack McCordick via The New Republic on June 3, 2025
Representative Greg Casar, in front of a poster that says "Fire Elon, Save Elmo"

The Trump Administration’s Showdown with PBS and NPR

While Democrats waving a Big Bird doll around on the House floor saved public broadcast funding in the past, this strategy does not seem likely to work in 2025.
by Abby Whitaker via Clio and the Contemporary on May 1, 2025
Rachel Cockerell’s “Melting Point" tells the story of an exiled people and their effort to find a place to call home.

When Jews Sought the Promised Land in Texas

While some Jewish exiles dreamed of a homeland in Palestine, the Jewish Territorial Organization fixed its hopes on Galveston.
by Kathryn Schulz via The New Yorker on April 28, 2025
A drawing of cannons being fired at Fort Sumter.

What Can We Learn From the Jewish Debate Over Slavery?

This Passover, American Jews should embrace the fight for “emancipation of all kinds.”
by Richard Kreitner via Slate on April 10, 2025
illustration of stack of books
partner

The Rise and Fall of Liberal Historiography

How historians changed their approach, from the 1960s to the present.
by Gabriel Winant via HNN on February 11, 2025
A drawing of a person staring at two different smartphones, with robotic arms holding their head in place.

What If the Attention Crisis Is All a Distraction?

From the pianoforte to the smartphone, each wave of tech has sparked fears of brain rot. But the problem isn’t our ability to focus—it’s what we’re focusing on.
by Daniel Immerwahr via The New Yorker on January 20, 2025
Illustration of a faceless Virgin Mary and Elizabeth, holding sonograms of the unborn Christ and John the Baptist.

How an American Film in 1984 Shaped the ‘Fetal Personhood’ Movement

The success of the movie ‘The Silent Scream,’ made by onetime abortionist Bernard Nathanson, continues to influence the pro-life narrative.
by Diane de Vignemont via New Lines on October 25, 2024
Drawing of the Constitutional Convention, by John W. Winkler.
partner

Strange Political Bedfellows

The origins of the Electoral College are entwined with slavery, but not in the way that recent accounts have suggested.
by Mark McKibbin, Denver Brunsman via HNN on October 9, 2024
Kamala Harris and Tim Walz at a rally.
partner

How Vice-Presidential Nominees Became 'Attack Dogs'

Vice presidential nominees weren't tasked with flinging mud until the last 40 years.
by Charles J. Holden via Made By History on August 7, 2024
1924 Democratic convention at Madison Square Garden.

Why the 1924 Democratic National Convention Was the Longest and Most Chaotic of Its Kind

A century ago, the party took a record 103 ballots and 16 days of intense, violent debate to choose a presidential nominee.
by Eli Wizevich via Smithsonian on June 24, 2024
Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert giving two thumbs up.

When the Movies Mattered

Siskel and Ebert and the heyday of popular movie criticism.
by Annie Berke via The Yale Review on June 12, 2024
Misery and Fortune of Women (1930).

The Lost Abortion Plot

Power and choice in the 1930s novel.
by Julia Cooke via The Point on June 11, 2024
A colorful illlustration of Texas Rangers, three Tejano men, guns, and alcohol bottles.

After a Borderland Shootout, a 100-Year-Old Battle for the Truth

A century after three Tejano men were shot to death, the story their family tells is different than the official account. Whose story counts as Texas history?
by Arelis R. Hernández, Frank Hulley-Jones via Washington Post on May 15, 2024
Richard and Pat Nixon plant a tree on the White House lawn on Earth Day, 1970.

The “Carbon Dioxide Problem”: Nixon’s Inner Circle Debates the Climate Crisis

A collection of records from the Nixon Presidential Library and other sources on the internal debates Nixon advisors were having about climate change and environment.
by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Henry Kissinger, Hubert Heffner, U. Alexis Johnson, Rachel Santarsiero via National Security Archive on April 26, 2024
Women march for free abortion on demand.

Abortion On Demand

The surprising history of a politically charged phrase.
by Gillian Frank via The Revealer on April 4, 2024
partner

Lessons from the 1976 Republican Convention: Why Ronald Reagan Lost the Nomination

In 1976, Ronald Reagan found owning the soul of a party isn’t the same as taking home its nomination.
via Retro Report on March 15, 2024
Lincoln being sworn in by Chief Justice Taney.

We Are Already Defying the Supreme Court

The risks of calling on politicians to push back against the court must be weighed against the present reality of a malign judicial dictatorship.
by Samuel Moyn, Ryan D. Doerfler via Dissent on January 22, 2024
Parental advisory sticker warning of explicit content.
partner

Who Gets to Regulate #*%&? Free Speech in Popular Culture

When speech offends, who decides where boundaries should be drawn?
via Retro Report on January 18, 2024
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