John Quincy Adams

The Alamo supposedly honors the courage of Anglos pitted against Mexican brutality. In fact, it is about slavery and emancipation.

James Monroe’s 1817 goodwill tour kicked off a decade of party-less government – but he couldn’t stop the nation from dividing again.

Twenty-one historians explain which moments in history are closest to the Trump election - and what we can learn.

On the origins of racial exclusion in the society that would become the United States of America.

The most important third party in the history of American politics is one you may never have heard of before.

Andrew Jackson deserves nothing but contempt from modern America, not a place on our currency.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the age of surveillance.

Who were Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Lincoln, and the rest of the first 16 US presidents, what did they do, and what do they hope history has forgotten?

The author's half-forgotten masterpiece, Benito Cereno, provides fascinating insight into issues of slavery, freedom, individualism—and Islamophobia.

American legislators have been trying – and failing – to achieve universal health coverage for more than a century now.