Matthew Wills

This isn’t all history, of course. The Espionage Act is still on the books: Chelsea Manning was charged under it in 2011.

Ronald Reagan is at the heart of the modern American politics of advertising, public relations, and a television in every home.

Noah Webster, author of An American Dictionary of the English Language published in 1828, invented the word "immigration."

Bureaucracy used to work through patronage, an informal system of job-distribution by the party in power. Why did it change?

The debate about the nature of Woodrow Wilson's health is intertwined with questions about his self-righteous character.

Ellis Island celebrates its 125th anniversary as the federal immigration depot.

How did Niagara Falls become the Honeymoon Capital of the World?

Johnny Appleseed was based on a real person, John Chapman, who was eccentric enough without the legends.

The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Thomas Jefferson was not then credited with its authorship.

A more sympathetic look at Aaron Burr, the man who killed Alexander Hamilton.