Abraham Lincoln

Greg Grandin’s new book tells the story of US expansionism and its complex relationship with the rest of the New World.

Senator Joseph McCarthy built his reputation on fear-mongering, smear campaigns, and falsehoods about government employees and their associates.

It may sound counterintuitive, but Ken Burns’ version of U.S. history actually has quite a bit in common with Trump’s version.

How Trump's migration-as-invasion theory might serve as a pretext for claiming vast presidential powers and upending constitutional norms.

For centuries, theorists of liberal governance have worried about how emergencies can unfetter executive power. Trump has given those fears new urgency.

At the time of the Civil War, many Americans revered the nation’s Founding Fathers, and both supporters and opponents of slavery recruited them to their sides.

Do judges have the power to enforce their rulings if the executive branch refuses to comply?

If RFK is confirmed, he is likely to fail for reasons similar to those for past political choices for the cabinet.

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.

Trump's foreign policy is not as unprecedented as it seems.

On the medallic art of the Gilded Age.

Between 40% and 50% of children didn’t live past 5 in the US during the 19th century. Authors documented the common but no less gutting grief of losing a child.

Am 1884 guide to vice and crime by the founder of the world’s largest private detective agency.

There are uncanny parallels between the elections of 2024 and 1856, with one big exception: in 1856, it was the political left that was on the offensive.

Why did it take so long for the U.S. Army to authorize the enlistment of Black men as soldiers?

The stories of two Muslim immigrants who fought for the Union show that the American Civil War was an international fight.

Chinese immigrants sacrificed to create America's first transcontinental railroad. Its completion contributed to a backlash that led to immigration clampdown.

The success of “Reagan” reflects the market demands of a more fragmented moviegoing public—and reality.

Walking needs no publicist. The simplest, most accessible form of exercise has been around since humans first foraged and traveled on the ground.

Charles Ives and the Civil War.