Jon Grinspan

They called themselves the Wide Awakes. They are a lesson in building a political movement.

The untold story of the Wide Awakes, the young Americans who took up the torch for their antislavery cause and stirred the nation.

Meet the duo who helped achieve the most important labor and civil rights victories of their age.

The decades after the Civil War saw mass participation and mass outrage, followed by a period of orderly reform. What can we learn from that era today?

In 1880, a new generation helped decide the closest popular vote in U.S. history.

The messy election of 1876.

Was Abraham Lincoln's the most tumultuous presidential transition in American history?

Wearing shiny black capes and practicing infantry drills had nothing to do with preparing for civil war.