On Robert Caro, Great Men, and the Problem of Powerful Women in Biography

Power and ambition in women are often hidden, buried, disguised, crushed, mocked, diminished, punished, or excoriated.
Robert E. Lee statue

Mistaken Ruling over Lee and Jackson Statues Extends Charlottesville Harm

The Lee and Jackson statues were erected not to mourn their deaths, but to glorify their character.

No Man’s Land

In ignoring the messy realities of westward expansion, McCullough’s "The Pioneers" is both incomplete and dull.

The Inventor of Mother’s Day

Anna Jarvis spent years fighting the holiday’s commercialization, but that may have hastened its descent into Hallmark territory.

Eric Hobsbawm, the Communist Who Explained History

Hobsbawm saw his political hopes crumble. He used that defeat to tell the story of our age.

Want to Save the Humanities? Make College Free

It's time to shift the social contract of education away from short-term job training toward long-term development.

We Have Always Loved Ranking Things, Particularly American Presidents

Douglas Brinkley offers a brief history of political listicles.

The Consequences of Forgetting

The reparations struggle is about remembering that America was built on slavery, but also about fighting for all working people.

Brazil’s Long, Strange Love Affair with the Confederacy Ignites Racial Tension

In Brazil, some descendants of defeated Confederate immigrants still believe the war for secession was a noble cause.

It Was History All Along, Mom

Why did I never recognize all the important and valuable stories my mother told me as "history"?

The Magic of Estate Sales

These collections of everyday objects are clues to strangers’ daily lives.

The History of L.A.’s African American Miniature Museum

How and why a Los Angeles folk artist created a vast array of intricate dioramas to form the African American Miniature Museum.

A Symbol of Slavery — and Survival

Angela’s arrival in Jamestown in 1619 marked the beginning of a subjugation that left millions in chains.

Why We Need a New Civil War Documentary

The success and brilliance of the new PBS series on Reconstruction is a reminder of the missed opportunity facing the nation.
Neo-Nazis hold flags during a National Socialist Movement rally at Greenville Street Park in Newnan, Georgia, on April 21, 2018.

On the Rise of “White Power”

The author of a book on paramilitary white supremacy discusses the methods and ethics of researching racial violence.

So What if Lincoln Was Gay?

Reflections from the author of a novel that does not shy away from the question of Lincoln's sexuality.

Inside an Annual Gathering of Abraham Lincoln Impersonators

There were 22 Abrahams at the event, which began in 1990.

A Book of Necessary, Speculative Narratives for the Anonymous Black Women of History

Unearthing the beauty in the wayward, the fiction in the facts, and the thriving existence in the face of a blanked out history.
Trump and Macron with their wives at Mount Vernon.

Trump’s ‘Truly Bizarre’ Visit to Mt. Vernon

The 45th president, no student of history, marveled at the first president's failure to name his historic compound after himself.

The (Historical) Body in Pain

How can we understand the physical pain of others?
Scene of Martin Luther King assassination, with people around King pointing to where the gunfire came from.

The Day Martin Luther King Jr. Died

In the first episode of ‘Voices of the Movement,’ King's associates recount their memories of April 4, 1968.

Thomas J. Sugrue on History’s Hard Lessons

On why he became a public thinker, the relationship between race and class, and his work in light of new histories of capitalism.

The Chaos of Altamont and the Murder of Meredith Hunter

A lot has been written about the notorious concert, but so much of the language around it has been passive and exonerating.
partner

How New York’s New Monument Whitewashes the Women’s Rights Movement

It offers a narrow vision of the activists who fought for equality.
Francis Fukuyama

The End of the End of History

What does it mean to live in a world in which history has rusted under the monstrous weight of the permanent now?

Charles Beard: Punished for Seeking Peace

His reputation was savaged because he had the temerity to question the 'Good War' narrative.

Learning from Jamestown

The violent catastrophe of the Virginia colonists is the best founding parable of American history.
Framed portrait of Julia Chinn.

The Erasure and Resurrection of Julia Chinn

Why the nation's ninth vice-president – and his black wife – were purposely forgotten.

The Gay, Black Civil Rights Hero Opposed to Affirmative Action

How would Bayard Rustin be judged today?
Erica Armstrong Dunbar and Tiya Miles.

Talk of Souls in Slavery Studies

The co-winners of the 2018 Frederick Douglass Book Prize on researching slavery.