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Colonists leaving families to fight the British.

How Fake Foreign News Fed Political Fervor and Led to the American Revolution

Fuel for the revolution came from a source familiar today: distorted news reports used to drum up enthusiasm for overthrowing an illegitimate government.
The cover of "Religion and the American Revolution: An Imperial History."

An “Imperial Bridge” Between Britain and the North American Colonies

How British protestantism connected colonies and empire until the rupture of the American Revolution.
Photo from the January 6th Capitol Attack, with rioters raising a flag in front of a cloud of smoke by the capitol.

How the Republican Party Embraced Political Violence Before January 6th

On the alarming origins of the current political moment.
Members of the John Birch Society pledging allegiance to the flag at a meeting, Chicago, 1961.

The Birchers & the Trumpers

A new biography of Robert Welch traces the origins and history of the anti-Communist John Birch Society and provides historical perspective on the Trump era.
Blue and red donkey logo of the Democratic Party.

Hope in the Desert: Democratic Party Blues

In 'What It Took to Win,' Michael Kazin traces the history over the past two centuries of what he calls ‘the oldest mass party in the world’.
Lithograph of African Americans in prayer as Liberty lays a wreath on Charles Sumner’s casket. By Matt Morgan, from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 1874.

Reconciliation Process

When Charles Sumner died in 1874, a bill he had sponsored two years earlier threatened to overshadow his legacy.
American Civil Rights leader Jesse Jackson (center) participating in a rally, January 15, 1975 (Wikipedia Commons)

Black Mayors, Black Politics, and the Gary Convention

The National Black Political Convention of 1972 saw many national giants on the Black political scene.
A book labeled "history" begin painted white to represent revisionism.

Right-Wing Nationalists Are Marching into the Future by Rewriting the Past

Fights over history like those in the U.S. are happening all over the world.
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade, led by Milton Wolff.

Soldiers of Solidarity

Giles Tremlett tells the story of the foreigners who joined the first line of defense against fascism in Europe.
"Bad Faith Race and the Rise of the Religious Right" book cover, featuring a photo of politicians speaking to a crowd.

That New Old-Time Religion

“They’ll tell you it was abortion. Sorry, the historical record’s clear: It was segregation.”

Joe Biden Is Not Jimmy Carter, and This Is Not the 1970s

The right’s facile comparisons of the two presidents miss the vastly different circumstances facing Biden and distort Carter’s record.
Lithograph of an armed mob attacking another group in the street.

The Philadelphia Bible Riots

The debate regarding which Bible kids should read in school was about whether Catholic immigrants should have the full rights of American citizenship.
Painting of George Washington on horseback, leading troops through the countryside to squash the Whiskey Rebellion.

Examining Public Opinion during the Whiskey Rebellion

This armed uprising in 1794, over taxation by the fledgling new government, threatened to destroy the new union within six years of the Constitution’s ratification.
Barbed wire with an American flag hanging on it

For Two Decades, Americans Told One Lie After Another About What They Were Doing in Afghanistan

The war in Afghanistan was nasty and brutish, marked by the same imperial arrogance that doomed U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
Book cover of "When Good Government Meant Big Government," with text and red and blue stripes in the style of campaign signs.

When Good Government Meant Big Government

An interview with Jesse Tarbert about the history of the American state, “big government,” and the legacy of government reform efforts.
Newt Gingrich and applauding Republicans

My Front Row Seat to the Radicalization of the Republican Party

As a political reporter, I've seen four Republican revolutions — Reagan’s, Gingrich’s, the Tea Party’s and Trump’s — each of which took the party farther right.
Four stars with different designs

How America Fractured Into Four Parts

People in the United States no longer agree on the nation’s purpose, values, history, or meaning. Is reconciliation possible?
Political cartoon of women marching in Revolutionary War costumes, waving a flag that says "Constitutional Amendment"
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The 1940s Fight Against the Equal Rights Amendment Was Bipartisan and Crossed Ideological Lines

Support for and opposition to the ERA are not positions that are fundamentally tied to either conservatism or liberalism.
Sketch of late 19th century political rally in NYC

The Forgotten Precedent for Our ‘Unprecedented’ Political Insanity

The decades after the Civil War saw mass participation and mass outrage, followed by a period of orderly reform. What can we learn from that era today?
Painting of “Polling Day” in Pennsylvania in the Colonies, date unknown.

“They Chase Specters”

The irrational, the political, and fear of elections in colonial Pennsylvania.
Joe Biden.
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What’s Driving So Many Republicans to Support Joe Biden?

The collapse of the Republican Party.
People in formal wear sitting in chairs, listening to a person behind a desk

Will We Ever Get Rid of the Electoral College?

The system that is nobody’s first choice.
Harry Sternberg’s 1947 visualization of fascism as a three-headed monster.

What We Don’t Understand About Fascism

Using the word incorrectly oversimplifies history—and won't help us address our current political crisis.
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We’ve Forgotten the Worst President in American History

Could Donald Trump really rival James Buchanan?

Alternate Histories

A conversation with John Nichols about the night in 1944 that altered the trajectory of the Democratic Party.

When Centrists Sounded Like Bernie

If the Democratic Party won’t listen to the left, it should at least listen to itself from 30 years ago.
Pat Buchanan surrounded by balloons at a campaign rally.

The Year the Clock Broke

How the world we live in already happened in 1992.
partner

The Senate Has Lost Its Way

Here's how it's supposed to handle Supreme Court nominations.

America Is Living James Madison’s Nightmare

The Founders designed a government that would resist mob rule. They didn’t anticipate how strong the mob could become.

50 Years Ago, Progressive Delegates Commandeered the Democratic Convention

The surprise vice presidential nomination of Julian Bond suddenly turned the televised discussion to poverty, racism, and war.

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