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Beyond

On Americans’ connections to the larger world.

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Viktor Koretsky: Breaking Chains – That's an Echo of Our Revolution! (1968)

Statemania

When the American Dream came to Africa.
by Rahmane Idrissa via Equator on October 29, 2025
Illustration of draping a Pizza Hut tarp over the Hammer and Sickle.

Pizzastroika

In 1990, one of the great forgotten acts of American subterfuge unfolded. It involved Pizza Hut.
by Josh Levin, Kelly Jones via Slate
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on November 13, 2025
Political cartoon depicting the Monroe Doctrine as a fence keeping Germans and British out of the Americas.

The Monroe Doctrine in 2025

A refresher on the original intent of John Quincy Adams's 1823 policy statement in the wake of the recent announcement of the "Trump Corollary."
by Lindsay M. Chervinsky via Imperfect Union on December 15, 2025
Obama hands the Paris Agreement documents to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The Paris Climate Agreement at 10 Years

Declassified records begin to detail the U.S. negotiating strategy in the historic accord.
by Rachel Santarsiero via National Security Archive on December 12, 2025

Exhibits

Exhibit

Crimes of War

Stories about the civilian victims of past wars, and the extent to which Americans have acknowledged and accounted for atrocities committed in their name.

Exhibit

The Soviets and US

The contours and legacies of the most consequential political rivalry of the 20th century.

Exhibit

The Lives of War Veterans

The experiences of veterans of American wars, from the Civil War to Afghanistan, and our collective obligation to those who have served.

Landing of Columbus.
Exhibit

Imperial Ambitions

Five hundred years of empire building in North America and beyond its borders.

Spectators watch Operation Sail, a parade of 16 majestic tall ships from 14 nations to celebrate the U.S. bicentennial, in New York Harbor on July 4, 1976.

How the World Celebrated America’s 200th Birthday

Countries around the world participated in the 1976 bicentennial, in a turning point for US soft power.
by Michael J. Kramer via New Lines on July 3, 2026
Surrender of Baillie to Hyder Ali.

Why the Last Battle of the American Revolution Was Fought In India

The American rebellion was, in many ways, a sideshow to a far greater imperial drama.
by Ishaan Tharoor via The New Yorker
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on July 2, 2026
Painting of Washington crossing the Delaware.

The Fighting Irish: Ireland and the American Revolution

Irish people profoundly impacted the American Revolution, fighting on both sides of the war. In return, the Revolution shaped struggles for Irish independence.
by Richard Bell via IrishAmerica250 on June 30, 2026
Approach to the Bridge of Spain in the New Town, Manila, 1899
partner

The Crime That Wasn't Called Sodomy

In the American Philippines, officials used vagrancy laws to police same-sex relations while avoiding explicit bans.
by Victor Román Mendoza, H. M. A. Leow via JSTOR Daily on June 26, 2026
Wealthy eighteenth century European man looking at North America on a globe

How Poland's Fate Drove the Declaration

The overlooked role of Poland’s partition in the Declaration of Independence.
by David Armitage via Washington Post
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on June 26, 2026
West German team on the soccer pitch at the World Cup

A New History of the World Cup

The beautiful game has never looked more beautiful on the pitch, or more ugly off it.
by Simon Skinner via London Review of Books
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on June 25, 2026
Painting of a naval battle off the Chesapeake.

The Revolution Heard Around the World

The global politics of 1776.
by Sophia Rosenfeld via The Nation
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on June 9, 2026
Portrait of Pocahontas depicting her in English garb including a top hat and large, high collar.

Beyond Disney: A 1616 Portrait of Pocahontas Shows How English Colonizers Saw Indigenous Americans

The English assumed people they colonized would convert to their way of life, including Protestant Christianity, which was reflected in Pocahontas’s portrait.
by Peter C. Mancall via The Conversation on May 25, 2026
Nickel factory of Holguin, Cuba, 1967.

How to Break Cuba

Inside the Trump administration’s high-stakes fight over the island’s strategic minerals.
by Vivian Salama via The Atlantic
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on May 24, 2026
Section of the painting "Battle of Ballynahinch" (1798) by Thomas Robinson.

Green Flags and Red Coats

The American war reshaped Ireland’s place in the empire, sparking a radical push for independence that instead ended in union with Britain.
by Eamonn Bellin via Law & Liberty on May 20, 2026
Midcentury Black marchers walk down the street, one carrying a sign memorializing Crispus Attucks.

New Declarations

By invoking the American Revolution, 20th-century anticolonial figures connected their project with the movement for civil rights in the United States.
by Adom Getachew via Dissent on May 18, 2026
Visitors look over items from the Library's collections relating to Jewish life in Colonial America after a speech by Laura Arnold Leibman.

Jewish Life in 1776: A Revolutionary Moment

Jewish merchants on the island of Sint Eustatius helped sustain the American Revolution after the island gave the U.S. its first foreign salute in 1776.
by Neely Tucker via Library of Congress Blog on May 18, 2026
Revolutionary war battle.
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How the World Came to Fight in America's Revolution

The war looks very different in the context of ongoing European rivalries and trans-national alliances.
via Retro Report on May 15, 2026
Ancient warships rowing and sailing alongside each other as warriors wield spears atop the decks.

Empires of Flow Control

The modern idea of the freedom of the seas is collapsing in the Strait of Hormuz.
by Nicholas Mulder via New York Review of Books
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on May 14, 2026
US National Team at the November 9, 1980 World Cup qualifier against Mexico.

The Feud That Shaped American Soccer

On the soccer rivalry between the U.S. and Mexico.
by Jeff Harder, Hal Phillips via Wesleyan Magazine on May 11, 2026
An illustration of a colonial American drummer boy walking around the globe.

The American Revolution Wasn’t the Main Event

Americans have long imagined that they set off a global age of revolt. Seen within the era’s wider wars of empire, the story looks rather different.
by Daniel Immerwahr via The New Yorker
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on May 4, 2026
The arctic landscape.

Dr. Freezelove

Who owns the Arctic?
by Laleh Khalili via London Review of Books
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on May 1, 2026
Painting of the surrender of the Kwantung Army.

The Operational Trap

Like Imperial Japan before us, the United States has substituted tactical and operational planning for strategic thinking.
by Nathan Goldwag via Liberal Currents on April 28, 2026
Signing the Alaska Treaty of Cessation, L. to R. Robert S. Chew, Secretary of State (USA) William H. Seward, William Hunter, Mr. Bodisco, Russian Ambassador Baron de Stoeckl, Charles Sumner, Fredrick W. Seward, William H. Seward House, Auburn, New York

America's First Bid for Greenland

William Seward's 1868 attempt to acquire the Danish territory was the country's first, but not the last. 
by Mark Kawar via American Heritage on April 28, 2026
Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders on horses with guns.

Why America Stopped Annexing Territory

The US found a more efficient way to project power than simple conquest.
by Mark Kawar via Law & Liberty on April 22, 2026
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks during a news conference following a weekly Democrat policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on April 14, 2026, in Washington, D.C.

This Isn’t Just Trump’s War on Iran. Both Parties Paved the Way for Disaster.

We must recognize Democrats share responsibility with the GOP for creating the climate that made such a war possible.
by Stephen Zunes via Truthout on April 17, 2026
An illustration of the Bay of Pigs invasion.

Lessons of the Bay of Pigs

The infamous paramilitary assault remains a cautionary Cold War history.
by Peter Kornbluh via The Nation
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on April 17, 2026
Map of the Middle East, with Iran as a fossilized seashell.

The ‘Third Gulf War’ And Its Aftermath

Tehran built a doctrine of resistance designed for export, not for local consumption, but then Washington broke a quarter-century taboo about striking Iran.
by Hassan Hassan, Kamran Bokhari via New Lines on April 10, 2026
U.S. President Jimmy Carter waving with Mexican President Jose López Portillo and their wives in 1977.

Could Mexico and the U.S. Have Solved the Migration Crisis 50 Years Ago?

How a 1970s Proposal to ‘Export Products, Not People’ North of the Border Got Rejected.
by Irvin Ibargüen via Zócalo Public Square on April 6, 2026
A ruined town in Iraq.

As US and Israeli Bombs Fall on Iran, Echoes of the War on Iraq

Like Bush's invasion of Iraq, Trump and Netanyahu's joint attack on Iran is being sold on myths.
by Helen Benedict via Inkstick on April 5, 2026
Illustration of twp revolutionary men, one holding the Corsica Constitution and the other holding the American Constitution.

Revolutionary Who Led Fight for Independence in Corsica Also Inspired America’s Rabble-Rousers

Pasquale Paoli was a “small fish fighting an entire empire.” Four thousand miles away, the founding fathers were watching and taking notes.
by Anna Richards via Smithsonian Magazine on April 2, 2026
Soldiers stand atop the Berlin Wall.
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Berlin Wall: The Rise and Collapse of a Cold War Symbol

Its construction nearly started a war, but its fall happened almost by accident.
via Retro Report on April 2, 2026
A bald eagle perches on an anthropomorphized mournful looking Earth.

The Lamps Are Going Out

America must look to examples from history and be careful of engaging in catastrophic imperial overreach.
by Christopher Caldwell via Claremont Review of Books on April 1, 2026
Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh being lifted up in a crowded street.

Decades of Hostility Between Iran and the US Were Preceded By A Little-Remembered Friendship

Many Americans only know the history of anger and tension with Iran. But it is worth recalling the time when the countries were friends.
by Daniel Thomas Potts via The Conversation on March 30, 2026
Under the Shadow
Podcast
Under the Shadow

How the United States Stole Mexico

As Trump threatens military action in Mexico under the banner of fighting drug cartels, this episode examines the deeper history of foreign intervention in Mexico. Visiting Mexico City’s National Museum of Interventions, host Michael Fox explores how Mexico has resisted invasions by Spain, France, and the United States, including the 1848 war that cost Mexico over half its territory. The episode connects past imperial ambitions to current US policy toward Latin America.
March 26, 2026
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