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Money

On systems of production, consumption, and trade.

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A computer, business documents, envelope, and a broadcast tower.

How Tech Giants Make History

AT&T’s early leaders used PR to sway public opinion, casting their monopoly as a public service and obscuring its political roots.
by Richard R. John via Pro-Market on October 10, 2024
A scale measuring the weight of gold flakes; with a quill, wax seals, lace, and jewelry.

Where Inflation Comes From

How we calculate inflation has always been a subject of debate. Small changes that might seem trivial lead to enormous changes in how well-off we think we are.
by Carola Conces Binder via Works In Progress on August 30, 2024
Ibn Khaldun

The Muslim Thinker Who Inspired Reagan

How Ibn Khaldun influenced the president and a generation of conservative tax policy.
by Mustafa Akyol via The Dispatch on October 10, 2024
A homesteader woman feeding chickens.

Some Country for Some Women

As women stretch themselves thin, homesteader influencers sell them an image of containment.
by Kim Hew-Low via The New Inquiry on September 26, 2024

Exhibits

Exhibit

The Way We Tax

From municipal government to international trade, these writings examine the political rhetoric, economic theories, and changing policies of taxation in the U.S.

Trad wife dresses in six different colors.

My Babies Are Richer Than Yours: On the Lie of the Online Tradwife

A new theory of the leisure class influencer.
by Lauren Carroll Harris via Literary Hub on January 10, 2025
Photo of Wong Kim Ark and document about Chinese Exclusion.

History’s Lessons on Anti-Immigrant Extremism

Even Trump’s recent assertion that he would use executive action to abolish birthright citizenship has a historical link to the Chinese American experience.
by Michael Luo via The New Yorker on January 5, 2025
The “Little Red Schoolhouse” in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Schoolhouse Crock

In every generation, charlatans come along with a plan to make education better by spending less money on schools.
by Jennifer C. Berkshire via The Baffler on January 2, 2025
Jimmy Carter in 1980.

Jimmy Carter Was No Friend of Union Workers Like Me

As a worker in the 1970s, I looked forward to a Jimmy Carter administration. By the end of his term in office, I felt betrayed.
by Chris Townsend via Jacobin on December 29, 2024
Karen Silkwood.

Whistleblower Karen Silkwood’s Urgent Message for Us

Karen Silkwood death and smear campaign highlights how retaliation against whistleblowers deflects scrutiny from power by targeting the messenger.
by Sarah Milov, Katherine Turk via Jacobin on December 28, 2024
David Rubenstein

King David

Carlyle Group founder David Rubenstein has cultivated a reputation as a well-meaning advocate of history education. What does that image mask?
by Rick Perlstein via The American Prospect on December 24, 2024
Nancy Pelosi standing next to a sign that says "Protecting America's Health Care."

UnitedHealthcare’s Decades-Long Fight to Block Reform

UnitedHealthcare, the health insurer whose CEO was murdered, has spent decades fighting and winning political battles to maintain the for-profit health system.
by Branko Marcetic via Jacobin on December 21, 2024
partner

Nuggets of Condescension

By universalizing their own economic history, Western observers have used the past to portray African economic culture as backward and inadequate.
by Bronwen Everill via HNN on December 17, 2024
Crowd of construction workers next to the first Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.

The Rockefeller Christmas Tree Belongs to the Working Class

Construction workers pooled their wages to erect the first one. Their bosses co-opted the gesture, transforming it into today’s consumer spectacle.
by Ashley Bishop, Spencer Snyder via Jacobin on December 17, 2024
A painting of a large camera on a film set, surrounded by green screens.

Casual Viewing

Why Netflix looks like that.
by Will Tavlin via n+1 on December 16, 2024
Peeling paint.

On “White Slavery” and the Roots of the Contemporary Sex Trafficking Panic

The ruling class used false claims about white women’s sexual virtue to regulate sexuality. But the “white slavery” panic was also about race, class and labor.
by Chanelle Gallant, Elene Lam via Literary Hub on December 12, 2024
The edges of two credit cards, prominently displaying the MasterCard and Visa logos.

Our Plastic Obsession

The story of credit cards is the story of industry versus regulators. Industry won.
by Richard Vague via Democracy Journal on December 12, 2024

How Jukeboxes Made Memphis Music

When R.E. Buster Williams ruled jukeboxes and jukeboxes ruled music.
by Robert Gordon via Oxford American on December 10, 2024
Bracero workers in line getting paperwork filled out.

A New Bracero Program Is Not the Solution

An Eisenhower-era initiative holds key lessons for Trump’s immigration policy.
by Mae Ngai via The Atlantic on December 9, 2024
John Harvard statue in Harvard Yard.

American Marxism Got Lost on Campus

At universities, American Marxism has led to good scholarship, but it’s also encouraged hyper-specialization and the use of impenetrable jargon.
by Russell Jacoby via Jacobin on December 8, 2024
partner

How the Federal School Lunch Program Became a Spicy Political Debate

A 1940s child nutrition program has been a subject of debate for decades, reflecting shifting political priorities.
via Retro Report on December 5, 2024
An older man standing outside a restaurant.

Aging Out

Many of us do not go gentle into that good night.
by Anne Matthews via The American Scholar on December 5, 2024
Tents in Resurrection City in Washington D.C., a protest encampment on the National Mall.

The Poverty of Homeownership

On both sides of the color line, to own one’s home remains synonymous with freedom—even as real estate has proven itself to be relentlessly unequal.
by David Helps via Public Books on December 4, 2024
A boarded-up food center.

The Great Grocery Squeeze

How a federal policy change in the 1980s created the modern food desert.
by Stacy Mitchell via The Atlantic on December 1, 2024
Farm for sale in Kansas, 1938.
partner

The Early History of “Selling America to Americans”

Using film and advertising to sell capitalism and nationalism to immigrants in the early 20th century.
by Caroline Jack via HNN on November 26, 2024

"College Sports: A History"

A new book considers the challenges of controlling the commercialization of college sports.
by Glenn C. Altschuler, David Wippman via Inside Higher Ed on November 26, 2024
A gate with the dollar signs on the front.

No Change In Elite College Low-Income Enrollment Since 1920s

A comprehensive new study found that the socioeconomic makeup of highly selective colleges is roughly the same as it was a century ago.
by Liam Knox via Inside Higher Ed on November 21, 2024
Linda McMahon speaking at the Republican National Convention on July 18 in Milwaukee.

Does Trump’s WWE Lady Really Have a Vision for Schools in America? Yes—It Would Make Everyone Mad

Trump's education vision echoes the Founding Era: vouchers, privatization, and apprenticeships risk inequality, education deserts, and child labor abuse.
by Adam Laats via Slate on November 20, 2024
Chinese laborers engaged to work on the American Transcontinental Railroad system.

America's First Major Immigration Crackdown and the Making and Breaking of the West

Chinese immigrants sacrificed to create America's first transcontinental railroad. Its completion contributed to a backlash that led to immigration clampdown.
by Greg Rosalsky via NPR on November 19, 2024
Protestors after Nixon's Election protesting the end to war.

US Labor and the Gaza War: Historical Perspective

Are we doomed to repetition? It’s something I worry about.
by Tim Barker via Origins of Our Time on November 15, 2024
Neon signage for Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort.
partner

The 2024 Election and America's Love Affair With Lotteries

Americans love games of chance, but history shows they're a poor substitute for a robust investment in public goods.
by Carly Goodman via Made By History on November 12, 2024
Donald Trump at a podium

The New Trumpian Bargain

Trump's second term echoes 19th-century policies: tariffs and immigration limits protect workers, while deregulation risks widening inequality.
by Sohrab Ahmari via New Statesman on November 12, 2024
A Chinese American woman riveter at work.

Could “Rosie the Riveter” Be Chinese American?

Despite having their citizenship withheld before the war, Chinese American women in the Bay Area made significant contributions to the wartime labor force.
by H. M. A. Leow, Xiaojian Zhao via JSTOR Daily on November 9, 2024
Advocates of student loan forgiveness protest outside the Supreme Court.

Reflections on the Geopolitical Roots of U.S. Student Loan Debt

The emergence of student loan debt in the late 1960s can be situated within a broader shift towards neoliberal governance.
by Britain Hopkins via Process: A Blog for American History on October 29, 2024
A 1923 General Electric advertisement of a women standing over a light switch.

Using Women’s Suffrage to Sell Soup and Cereal

In the 1920s, advertisers tried to convince women to exercise their political power not only at the ballot box but also in the store.
by Einav Rabinovitch-Fox via The Saturday Evening Post on October 29, 2024
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