Recently Published

A Republic of the People, a Constitution of Air

by Víctor Manuel Cázares Lira

Famous for his books about the founders, Gordon S. Wood’s true legacy may have been about showing how futile their efforts were in the face of pressures from below.

Regime Change

by Emily Lucille Hurt

A coin featuring the likeness of President Trump doesn’t have many precedents in American history. The ancient Roman opponents of Julius Caesar could explain why.

How “History” Became Central at the Supreme Court

by Anna Snyder

Originalists and historians use the past to accomplish very different tasks.

The Art of Writing History

by Emile Chabal

How Eric Hobsbawm brought revolution to a broad audience.

AI Is an Anti-Primary Source Machine

by Jordan Sand

Real voices from the past are threatened by chatbots designed to amplify — and ultimately become — the loudest voices in the room.

Where Lies the Revolutionary Soldier?

by Allison C. Meier

As the U.S. celebrates its 250th birthday, historians and archaeologists are working to recover the names of those who fought for independence.

A Danger to Civilization

by Kim Phillips-Fein

Lothrop Stoddard believed that the concept of “natural equality” between people was a threat to America. In the 1920s, it was hardly a fringe idea.

Where Did the Myth of the Victorian Prude Come From?

by Catherine Phipps

The actions of a few elites shaped the way we remember an entire generation.

Young Washington Is Old History

by Denver Brunsman

A new movie relies on 19th century myths to portray the very British George Washington as a moralistic proto-American ready to pursue independence. 

The Sweets of Peace and Domestic Happiness

by Lauren Duval

Domestic life was vital to white Americans’ practice of independence after the Revolutionary War.

Declaring “Revolution”

by Robert A. Gross

Even after the fighting started, it took years before American Patriots started calling their cause a “revolution.”

How White Supremacists Responded to the Great Strike of 1877

by Devin Thomas O’Shea

St. Louis elites responded to a nationwide labor movement with a movement of their own.

Just Mad Mamas?

by Sam Worley

The women who founded the 1980s-era Parents Music Resource Center portrayed it as being beyond politics. Its actions, funding, and legacy suggest otherwise.

The Bicentennial Made American History Look Ridiculous

by Marc Stein

Many Americans felt the U.S. had failed to live up to its ideals on its 200th anniversary. They hoped it might improve by the Declaration’s next big celebration.

Birthright Citizenship Existed Before the Fourteenth Amendment

by Van Gosse

The idea that citizenship extends to everyone born on U.S. soil has precedents stretching back to the Founding.

The Bentham Brothers Build a Panopticon

by Henry Snow

Attracted by autocracy, two 18th-century Englishmen went to Russia and invented a method to consolidate control over workers.

Witness to a Revolution

by Marc Egnal

A historian thinks about how interpretations of the American Revolution’s causes have changed — and stayed the same — over the course of his career.

The Hard Work of Reckoning with Local History

by Claire Wolnisty and Felix Harcourt

How the residents of Sherman, Texas, came together to patch a hole in historical memory.

The Prehistory of the Slave Patrol

by Gautham Rao

As slave rebellions roiled the minds of 18th century Americans, enslavers looked to the state to enact a new type of policing.

Reading Playboy for the History

by Chris Halsted

A historian stumbles upon an article that provides a fascinating glimpse into how the world thought about witchcraft and sex in 1963.