Benjamin Franklin

Supported and largely led by slaveholders, the American Revolution was also, paradoxically, a profound antislavery event.

Life as a Signal Corps weatherman was dangerous: besides inclement weather, they faced labor riots, conflicts with Native Americans, yellow fever outbreaks, fires, and more.

Alexander Hamilton always believed that the providential protection that kept the small Jewish world alive would embrace his own extraordinary nation.

The Founding Fathers made startlingly progressive statements that didn’t make it into popular history.

The voice of Doctor Johnson, archcritic of the American Revolution, was constantly in mind for the Declaration of Independence’s drafter.

David Hackett Fischer's book "African Founders" should be the starting point for any reflection on the enduring African ­influence on American national ideals.

The early republic and the seventh planet.

The relentless radicalism of Benjamin Lay.

"We have lost sight of some essential aspects of happiness that the founders clearly had in mind."

Stories of 1776 and Santa Claus.

In New England, the birds were once hunted nearly to extinction; now they’re swarming the streets like they own the place. Sometimes turnabout is fowl play.

A new book sets out to discover how Americans became such creatures of the seven-day week.

The senators, like the grand jurors, knew their man, and probably conceded that Temple had given him the hiding he had been asking for. 

The Broadway revival of the musical means less to reanimate the nation’s founding than to talk back to it.

Let’s consider the significance and responsibility of outlining, drafting, and shaping our nation as the Founding Fathers put pen to paper.

Back in the 19th century, coal was the nation's newfangled fuel source—and it faced the same resistance as wind and solar today.

The actions of one New Jersey royal governor demonstrate a rare case of impartial justice for Native Americans.

Digital archiving is shoddy and incomplete, and it will hamper the ability of future generations to understand the current era.

Nikole Hannah-Jones' new book sidesteps scholarly critics while quietly deleting previous factual errors.

The overlooked first mentor of Thomas Jefferson.