Memory

Once John E. Washington started to dig, he found an incredible wealth of untapped knowledge about the 16th president.

Why have Americans been obsessed with this one loss rather than dozens of victories?

Former slaves claimed the president came to plantations disguised as a beggar or a peddler, telling them they’d soon be free. 

Determined researchers are finally drawing the lines between higher education and America's original sin.

Were the founders really warning us about Trump, or were they just playing politics, too?

After my son died, how could I know anything for certain?

For most of American history, Washington's Birthday was a really big deal, but that’s changed a lot since the middle of the twentieth century.

America is covered in Confederate statues. We can do better — and here’s how.

A new study suggests that high school students lack a basic knowledge of the role slavery played in shaping the United States.

The debate over a Charleston monument to John Calhoun exemplifies the problems of contextualizing Confederate monuments.

150 years after Yosemite opened to the public, the park's indigenous inhabitants are still struggling for recognition.

Here's how the mystery of her true identity was solved.

There is no figure in recent American history whose memory is more distorted than Martin Luther King Jr.

The footage offers a riveting account of American history, in the voices of those who lived it.

King should be appreciated in his full complexity.

King was roundly denounced for his stances against the Vietnam War and injustices north of the Mason-Dixon line.

From Civil War uniforms to Viking smelts, meet the people who bring history to life.

How America’s infatuation with World War II has eroded our conscience.

Even Twain's own autobiography cannot reveal the whole truth of the literary legend.

Remembering the life of astronaut John Young and the time he took an unauthorized corn beef sandwich into space.

In the hamlet where U.S. troops killed hundreds of civilians, survivors are ready to forgive the most infamous American soldier.

On the 50th anniversary of that extraordinary year, historians consider 1968’s meaning and global context.

On my transition from editor of terrible history books to a writer of mediocre ones.

A dozen historians weigh in.

A reminder of history's proximity is prompted by a visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Connections between public history and policy in the wake of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante.

New York's statue debate hits Italian-Americans hard.

The president’s decision to attend the opening of a new civil rights museum in Jackson has sparked protests.

Her latest column suggests that harassment is a product of the sexual revolution. She can’t possibly believe that.

The perspectives of older Americans have dominated the debate. It's time we pay more attention to what younger people have to say.