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President Truman in the Oval Office after presenting three Korean War veterans with the Medal of Honor.

When History Becomes Precedent in the OLC

Official decisions about military intervention and executive power are often based on outdated historical interpretations.
by Mary L. Dudziak via Balkinization on January 16, 2023
Stack of papers with an image of the Capitol building printed on the side.

What the January 6th Report Is Missing

The investigative committee singles out Trump for his role in the attack. As prosecution, the report is thorough. But as historical explanation it’s a mess.
by Jill Lepore via The New Yorker on January 9, 2023
Douglas R. Stringfellow reading a statement before the press.

The Congressman Who ‘Embellished’ His Résumé Long Before George Santos

In the 1950's, Rep. Douglas Stringfellow was a promising young congressman with an incredible World War II story. Then the truth came out.
by Gillian Brockell via Retropolis on December 29, 2022
Two boys looking at the “General George Washington Resigning His Commission" painting in the U.S. Capitol rotunda.

Art at Capitol Honors 141 Enslavers and 13 Confederates. Who Are They?

A Washington Post investigation of more than 400 artworks in the U.S. Capitol building found that one-third honor enslavers or Confederates.
by Gillian Brockell via Washington Post on December 27, 2022
Collage of members of Coles family through history.

Their Wealth Was Built On Slavery. Now a New Fortune Lies Underground.

In Virginia, the land still owned by the Coles family could yield billions in uranium. Does any of that wealth belong to the descendants of the enslaved?
by Julie Zauzmer Weil via Retropolis on December 1, 2022
Engraving of an attempt to start a freight train, under a guard of U.S. marshals during the great railway strike of 1886.

Historians' Letter to President Biden About Looming Railroad Strike

More than 500 historians signed onto this letter of support for the demands of railway workers.
on November 30, 2022
Illustration of William and Florence Kelley

The Father-Daughter Team Who Reformed America

Meet the duo who helped achieve the most important labor and civil rights victories of their age.
by Jon Grinspan via Smithsonian on November 3, 2022
Print shows Rebel troops killing the citizens of Lawrence, Kansas, and setting fire to the buildings.

Where Will This Political Violence Lead? Look to the 1850s.

In the mid-19th century, a pro-slavery minority used violence to stifle a growing anti-slavery majority, spurring their opposition to respond in kind.
by Joshua Zeitz via Politico Magazine on October 29, 2022
An American flag stylized as a ball bearing maze.

The United States’ Unamendable Constitution

How our inability to change America’s most important document is deforming our politics and government.
by Jill Lepore via The New Yorker on October 26, 2022
Photo of E.P.A Headquarters, shot through a bush

How Government Ends

Through an assault on administrative agencies, the Supreme Court is systematically eroding the legal basis of effective governance.
by Lisa Heinzerling via Boston Review on September 28, 2022
Photo of Newt Gingrich speaking into a microphone.

To Understand the Modern GOP, Look at the Reactionary ’90s

The most vitriolic and morally panicked conservative figures of the 1990s contributed just as much to modern American conservatism as Ronald Reagan did.
by Paul M. Renfro via Jacobin on August 21, 2022
The American flag depicted upside down, in a beige color scheme.

Making the Constitution Safe for Democracy

The second section of the Fourteenth Amendment offers severe penalties for menacing the right to vote—if anyone can figure out how to enforce it.
by Anthony Conwright via The Forum on August 17, 2022
Map showing allotments to tribal citizens.

Sovereignty Is Not So Fragile

McGirt v. Oklahoma and the failure of denationalization.
by Noah Ramage via Perspectives on History on August 2, 2022
Rally honoring Martin Luther King Jr., Central Park, New York City, 1968

A Case of the Mondays

The beginning of the fight for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
by Daniel T. Fleming via Lapham’s Quarterly on June 29, 2022
Patsy Min, the first woman of color and the first Asian-American woman elected to Congress.

My Mom Fought For Title IX, but It Almost Didn’t Happen

When the personal and professional lives of Hawai'i Congresswoman Patsy Mink collided.
via New York Times Op-Docs on June 23, 2022
Black and white side by side of Presidents Nixon and Trump

Watergate's Ironic Legacy

Amidst the January 6 hearings, the fiftieth anniversary of Nixon’s scandal reminds us that it has only gotten harder to hold presidents accountable.
by Stuart Streichler via Boston Review on June 16, 2022
Puerto Rican protests for statehood
partner

The U.S. Having Territories Perpetuates Inequality and Colonialism

Caribbean islands as U.S. territories within an American empire has since the start sparked fierce debates.
by Anders Bo Rasmussen via Made By History on June 6, 2022
The XVIII Airborne Corps Headquarters sign is displayed at Fort Bragg, N.C. on June 28, 2019.

Panel Unveils Nine Army Base Name Recommendations

The commission is charged with renaming bases whose names currently honor Confederate leaders.
by Davis Winkie, Leo Shane III via Army Times on May 24, 2022
Illustration of catcher Buck Ewing of the New York Giants

Baseball's Reserve Clause and the "Antitrust Exemption"

The controversy between players and owners frequently brought baseball into the federal courts between the late nineteenth and late twentieth centuries.
by Jake Kobrick via Federal Judicial Center on May 18, 2022
The Burr-Hamilton Duel, 1804, Peter Newark American Pictures / Bridgeman Images .

Dueling: The Violence of Gentlemen

What honor required of men.
by Joseph Farrell via National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) on April 21, 2022
Artistic collage of the preamble to the U.S. Constitution.

Was Emancipation Constitutional?

Did the Confederacy have a constitutional right to secede? And did Lincoln violate the Constitution in forcing them back into the Union and freeing the slaves?
by James Oakes via New York Review of Books on April 20, 2022
A still from the 1955 film 'Wiretapper.' The still depicts a man wearing headphones and touching a wire.

When New York City was a Wiretapper’s Dream

Eavesdropping flourished after WWII, aided by legal loopholes, clever hacks, and “private ears”.
by Brian Hochman via IEEE Spectrum on March 25, 2022
Ketanji Brown Jackson speaking at a podium with Biden standing behind her.
partner

Why Supreme Court Confirmations Have Become So Bitter

The defeat of Robert Bork’s nomination to the Supreme Court in 1987 changed the way justices are confirmed today.
via Retro Report on March 17, 2022
Nipsey Russell, Harry Belafonte, Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King Jr. smiling and laughing.
partner

The Right to Joy and Pleasure is a Crucial Element of Racial Justice

Addressing systemic racism and state violence is not enough.
by Brence Pernell via Made By History on February 16, 2022
Picture of the U.S. Supreme Court

Reading the 14th Amendment

A review of three books about Abraham Lincoln, the 14th Amendment, and Reconstruction.
by Earl M. Maltz via National Review on February 3, 2022
African American man casting a ballot following the Fifteenth Amendment.

Echoes of 1891 in 2022

Using the congressional filibuster to prevent voting rights legislation isn't new. It has roots in the 19th century.
by Daniel W. Crofts via Muster on January 25, 2022

Republicans Are Moving Rapidly to Cement Minority Rule. Blame the Constitution.

Democracy is in trouble, but a lawless coup isn’t the real threat.
by Corey Robin via Politico Magazine on January 5, 2022
Political cartoon of Albert Gallatin attempting to stop a chariot driven by George Washington.

Nativism, Conspiracy Theories, and Mobs in Federalist America

Many people celebrate the U.S. as a nation of immigrants, but nativism has infused its politics from the outset.
by Sean P. Harvey via The Panorama on December 14, 2021
Illustration after American Gothic but in the context of the Black experience: African American farmers looking away, house foreclosed, lightning in the sky.

How Thousands of Black Farmers Were Forced Off Their Land

Black people own just 2 percent of farmland in the United States. A decades-long history of loan denials at the USDA is a major reason why.
by Kali Holloway via The Nation on November 1, 2021
Portrait of Steve Bannon with a serious expression

Executive Privilege Was Out of Control Even Before Steve Bannon Claimed It

A short history of a made-up constitutional doctrine that gives presidents too much power.
by Timothy Noah via The New Republic on October 18, 2021
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