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Lithograph of the brig Acorn leaving port with Sims on board.

Underground Railroad’s Forgotten Route: Thousands Fled Slavery by Sea

Despite depictions of the Underground Railroad, escaping over land was almost impossible in the South. Thousands of enslaved people found allies on the water.
original

Edgar Allan Poe’s America

Tracing the life of the author who seemed to be from both everywhere and nowhere.
The Sullivanians of the train from Amagansett, ca. 1972–76.

Where Egos Dare

The secret history of a psychoanalytic cult.
George Washington and his generals.

George Washington's Information War

Though technologies have altered information warfare, the underlying principles remain unchanged since the day-to-day operations of the Continental Army.
The John Rankin House, an original stop on the Underground Railroad.

The Underground Railroad Was the Ultimate Conspiracy to Southern Enslavers

And justified the most extreme responses.
A young Black boy pictured mid-flip, while his peers look on. In the background are a row of houses, one of which abandoned with the windows punched out.

What We Meant When We Said 'Crackhead'

“I’ve learned, through hundreds of interviews and years of research, is that what crack really did was expose every vulnerability of society.”
Historic marker for the 1892 lynching of Robert Lewis at Port Jervis.

Death by Northern White Hands

On Philip Dray’s “A Lynching at Port Jervis.”
CIA director William Colby, left, and President Gerald Ford, right.

How the Murder of a CIA Officer Was Used to Silence the Agency’s Greatest Critic

A new account sheds light on the Ford administration’s war against Sen. Frank Church and his landmark effort to rein in a lawless intelligence community.
Table of election returns printed in newspaper in 1796.

Collusion, Theft, Violence, and Lies: Lurid Tales of American Elections

1796, the first contested presidential election.
Illustration of flag against burning city backdrop

Did George Washington Burn New York?

Americans disparaged the British as arsonists. But the rebels fought with fire too.
KKK march overlaid on J. Edgar Hoover

How Hoover Took Down the Klan

The FBI’s successful campaign against white supremacists is also a cautionary tale.
Drawing of woman crying over her murdered father.

A Gilded Age Tale of Murder and Madness

In opulent seaside Newport, a wealthy and beloved Black businessman turns up dead. The resulting trial will tear the town in two.
Black and white photo of J. Edgar Hoover sitting at his desk.

J. Edgar Hoover, Public Enemy No. 1

The F.B.I. director promised to save American democracy from those who would subvert it—while his secret programs subverted it from within.
Painting entitled "Sulking," by Edgar Degas, c. 1870, depicting a man and woman perusing documents.

Rate the Room

The early history of rating credit in America.
Rioter holds Confederate flag outside the Senate chamber after breaching the US Capitol on January 6, 2001.
partner

The Secessionist Roots of the Jan. 6 Insurrection

Southern secessionists in 1860 had similar arguments to those of the rioters who stormed the Capitol.
Cover of "Bad Gays" book, with subtitle "A Homosexual History" superimposed over a Roman statue's mouth and beard.

What History’s “Bad Gays” Can Tell Us About the Queer Past and Present

A new book examines explores the ways that an uncritical celebration of “good” gays and “good” gayness can cause harm.
A drawing of Blanche Chesebrough with her husband standing out of frame, his hand on her shoulder.

Escape From the Gilded Cage

Even if her husband was a murderer, a woman in a bad marriage once had few options. Unless she fled to South Dakota.
Image of Jewish Daily Forward Day after bank closed

The Bank Of United States

East European Jews and the lost world of immigrant banking.
William Wells Brown

William Wells Brown, Wildcat Banker

How a story told by a fugitive from slavery became a parable of American banking gone bad.
Muhammad A. Aziz leaving a courtroom after being officially exonerated
partner

Exonerating Two Men Convicted of Malcolm X’s Killing Doesn’t Vindicate the System

Can a system built on racial violence actually deliver justice?
Angela Davis speaking at the Birmingham Committee for Truth and Reconciliation event at the Boutwell Auditorium on Feb. 16, 2019 in Birmingham, Ala. (Andi(cq)Rice/The Washington Post)
partner

Thanks to Conservative Politicans and the Media, the Education Wars Echo the 1960s

The debate once again centers on — and stokes — White parents’ anxieties.
The 101st Airborne outside Central High School in Little Rock
partner

Violence Over Schools is Nothing New in America

Schools have long been ideological and physical battlegrounds — especially when it comes to citizenship and civil rights.

What Made the Battle of Blair Mountain the Largest Labor Uprising in American History

Its legacy lives on today in the struggles faced by modern miners seeking workers' rights.
QAnon proponent and Trump supporters

Bad Information

Conspiracy theories like QAnon are ultimately a social problem rather than a cognitive one. We should blame politics, not the faulty reasoning of individuals.
Lightning bolt above a city at night.

The Human Nature of Disaster

A storm is never just wind or rain. Our natural problems are social problems. The solutions to them must be social, too.
Helen Keller, circa 1954.

Did Helen Keller Really “Do All That”?

A troubling TikTok conspiracy theory questions whether Keller was “real.”
Trump supporters standing outside of the U.S. Capitol building.
partner

What Pro-Trump Insurrectionists Share — and Don’t — With the American Revolution

Some supporters of the violent mob scene at the Capitol proclaimed it was the beginning of a “Second American Revolution.”
President Trump in front of a portrait of George Washington

We Nearly Lost Our First President to the Flu. The Country Could Have Died, too.

In 1790, George Washington fell severely ill, threatening his life and the young nation he led.
A motel that burned down in the Pacific Northwest wildfires, with a melted sign seen through orange smoke.
partner

Scapegoating Antifa for Starting Wildfires Distracts from the Real Causes

Radicals have long been blamed for wildfires in the Pacific Northwest.
Frances Perkins on a ship, wearing a winter coat and gloves.

Frances Perkins: Architect of the New Deal

She designed Social Security and public works programs that helped bring millions out of poverty. Her work has been largely forgotten.

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