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Power

On persuasion, coercion, and the state.
The President Is a Sick Man by Matthew Algeo, book cover

A Yacht, A Mustache: How A President Hid His Tumor

Grover Cleveland believed that if anything happened to his mustache during his surgery at sea, the public would know something was wrong.
by Matthew Algeo via NPR on July 6, 2011
BackStory
Podcast
BackStory

Civil War 150th: The Road to War

This is the first of a three-part reflection on the Civil War at its sesquicentennial. It explores Lincoln’s election, secession fears, slavery’s role in the conflict, and how Americans have misjudged the war’s devastating impact.
March 24, 2011
Poster for U.S. Census reading "Have your papers ready," featuring Uncle Sam writing in book
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Beyond Numbers: A History of the U.S. Census

To mark the culmination of Census 2010, we explore the fascinating story of how Americans have counted themselves.
via BackStory on December 22, 2010

Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Nine maps of the transatlantic slave trade between 1500 and 1900.
by David Eltis, David Richardson via The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database on November 18, 2010

The Reagan Democrat Delusion

Whenever Democrats lose votes, pundits crow that they've lost the working class. Not so, though they have alienated unions.
by Michael Paarlberg via The Guardian on November 16, 2010
Hard hats on Nixon's cabinet conference table.

When Blue-Collar Pride Became Identity Politics

Remembering how the white working class got left out of the New Left, and why we're all paying for it today.
by Jefferson Cowie, Joan Walsh via Salon on September 6, 2010
Cartoon of congressmen talking in two insular groups. Illustration by Steve Brodner

The Empty Chamber

For many reasons, senators don’t have the time, or the inclination, to get to know one another—least of all members of the other party.
by George Packer via The New Yorker
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on August 2, 2010

The History of the Filibuster

In testimony before a committee of the U.S. Senate, Sarah Binder counters a number of conventionally held notions about the filibuster.
by Sarah Binder via Brookings on April 22, 2010
A nurse cares for a patient in bed
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The Health of a Nation

Political scientist Jacob Hacker explains how we wound up with a healthcare system so different from the European model, and why lobbyists hold so much sway.
via BackStory on October 1, 2009
The large Wide Awake parade in lower Manhattan.

“Young Men for War”: The Wide Awakes and Lincoln’s 1860 Presidential Campaign

Wearing shiny black capes and practicing infantry drills had nothing to do with preparing for civil war.
by Jon Grinspan via Journal of American History
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on September 1, 2009

Lower the Voting Age!

Why 16 year-olds can help us heal our broken political system.
by Marco Roth via n+1 on November 1, 2008

Banging on the Door: The Election of 1872

In the 1872 election, Victoria Woodhull ran for president of the United States – the first woman in American history to do so.
by Joe Richman, Samara Freemark via Radio Diaries on October 13, 2008
Marine hospital

Sailors’ Health and National Wealth

That the federal government created this health care system for merchant mariners in the early American republic will surprise many.
by Gautham Rao via Commonplace on October 1, 2008
A political cartoon depicting the candidates in the 1824 election.

Was Andrew Jackson Really the People's Choice in 1824?

In 1828, Jackson's campaign argued that an 1824 victory was stolen from him. Is it really so clear-cut?
by Donald J. Radcliffe via Commonplace on October 1, 2008

Political Construction of a Natural Disaster: The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1853

The conversation around race after Hurricane Katrina echoed discourse from another New Orleans disaster 150 years before.
by Henry M. McKiven Jr. via Journal of American History
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on December 1, 2007
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The Myth of the Media's Role in Watergate

Journalists' role in uncovering the scandal may not have been as significant as we think.
by Mark Feldstein via HNN on August 30, 2004

The Debate Over War Powers

Two legal scholars make the case that President Bush must seek congressional authorization before initiating a preemptive military strike on Iraq.
by Mark R. Shulman, Lawrence J. Lee via American Bar Association on January 1, 2003
James K. Polk
partner

The History of Macho Presidents

A survey of presidential unilateralism going all the way back to the nation‘s founding.
by Alexander DeConde via HNN on September 16, 2002
Theodore Roosevelt in three energetic poses.

The Performer

The presidency of Theodore Roosevelt and his creation of the modern "performer" president.
by Russell Baker via New York Review of Books
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on April 11, 2002
A picture of a woman at a protest against Islamophobia.

The Most Patriotic Act

A warning from September 2001 about government overreach in the name of national security.
by Eric Foner via The Nation
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on September 20, 2001

Mrs. Roosevelt's Revolution

In the wake of the Second World War, Eleanor Roosevelt seized the moment and gave lasting life to the idea of universal human rights.
by Brian Urquhart via New York Review of Books
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on April 26, 2001
Cartoon depictinf a man pouring a bowl of sugar babies in front of a group of onlookers.

Birchismo

Culture-shocked Americans in the 1960s were all too happy to take directions from the John Birch Society: take an extreme right and drive forever.
by Dan Kelly via The Baffler
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on December 16, 1999
Portrait of Thomas Jefferson.

That Government is Best...

Did Thomas Jefferson really believe, “That government is best which governs least?”
by Eyler Robert Coates Sr. via The Jeffersonian Perspective on January 1, 1999
Mine worker standing in front of piles of rocks.

The Bisbee Deportation of 1917

It had not only a pivotal effect in Arizona's own labor history, but also on labor activity throughout the country.
by Sheila Bonnand via University of Arizona Library on January 1, 1997
John Lewis

John Lewis's American Odyssey

The congressman is the strongest link in American politics between the early 1960s--the glory days of the civil rights movement--and the 1990s.
by Sean Wilentz via The New Republic
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on July 1, 1996
Anita Hill taking oath before testifying.

Anita Hill's Opening Statement

In 1991, Anita Hill publicly accused then Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment in the early 1980s.
via CNN on October 11, 1991

Ronald Reagan Jokes about the USSR

Reagan's use of jokes to openly mock the Soviet system were part of his broader Cold War strategy.
via Voices & Visions on March 28, 1988
Pickets supporting and opposing a House subcommittee on Un-American Activities hearing in 1964.

Reading, Writing, and Redbaiting

When McCarthy stalked the groves of academe.
by Alan Wald via Boston Review on October 1, 1986
A political cartoon of Franklin Delano Roosevelt with a crow on his shoulder, representing Jim Crow.

The Not-So-New Deal

The New Deal brought Black voters over to the Democratic Party, but was marred by racial inequality.
by C. Vann Woodward via New York Review of Books
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on December 8, 1983
Joe Biden as a new Senator, sitting next to framed photographs of his family

Death and the All-American Boy

Joe Biden was a lot more careful around the press after this 1974 profile.
by Kitty Kelley via Washingtonian on June 1, 1974
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