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Frederick Douglass

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Painting of Sir Edward Coke, English jurist, by Cornelius Janssen van Ceulen.

The Historic Case for Birthright Citizenship

The Trump administration’s efforts to narrow the scope of the 14th Amendment are based on revisionist history.
by Keith Whittington via The Dispatch on March 2, 2026
Colorful cartoon graphic of George Washington and a Gumby-style Uncle Sam

Scandal, Protest, Goofiness, and Grandeur at the U.S. Bicentennial

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding. The 200th wasn’t exactly smooth sailing.
by Jill Lepore via The New Yorker
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on March 2, 2026
Paint roller white-washing a February calendar.

Black History Month Is Radical Now

A nation that wants to forget its past must be reminded of all of it.
by Adam Harris via The Atlantic
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on February 19, 2026
Sculpture of a blindfolded Black man, by artist Woodrow Nash on display at the Whitney Plantation.

Black Men Endured Sexual Exploitation Under Slavery. Their Story Is Rarely Told.

Historian Thomas A. Foster discusses his new book "Rethinking Rufus: Sexual Violations of Enslaved Men".
by Thomas A. Foster, George Yancy via Truthout on February 12, 2026
A protestor climbs the flagpole to remove the American flag during an Anti-Vietnam War rally in 1971.

Another Country: Visions of America

The rise of a violent authoritarian state under Trump unveils a deep uncertainty over what America is.
by Adam Shatz via London Review of Books
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on January 26, 2026
Sketch of Samuel Green.

Samuel Green Freed Himself and Others From Slavery. Then He Was Imprisoned Over Owning a Book

He covertly assisted conductors on the Underground Railroad, but it was his possession of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” turned that him into an abolitionist hero.
by Victor Luckerson via Smithsonian Magazine on January 14, 2026
"We The People" Constitution on top of many folders of paper.

Conservatives Want the Antebellum Constitution Back

The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments are in trouble.
by Adam Serwer via The Atlantic
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on December 21, 2025
Headquarters building of the U.S. Mint, Washington, D.C.

U.S. Anniversary Coins Won’t Feature any Black Americans or Notable Women

For years, the U.S. Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee reviewed ideas for commemorative coins marking America’s 250th anniversary.
by Emmanuel Felton via Washington Post
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on December 20, 2025
Declaration of Independence and American flag.

Declaration of Independence’s Promises Ring Out Today as Loudly as They Did for 249 Years

Americans have looked to the Declaration of Independence when they sought to remedy contemporary problems and create new visions for the country’s future.
by Graeme Mack via The Conversation on December 4, 2025
Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln’s 1859 Lesson for Some 2028 Democrat

There are parallels between the John Brown raid and the murder of Charlie Kirk. But only one man seized the moment to start changing the course of history.
by Sidney Blumenthal via The New Republic
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on October 20, 2025
A map of a proposed redistricting plan in Louisiana.

The Two Section Twos

The protection against racial gerrymandering in Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is constitutional. Just read Section 2 of the 14th Amendment.
by Sherrilyn Ifill via Sherrilyn's Newsletter on October 15, 2025
Lincoln, Washington, and a snippet from a lyceum address.

The Lincoln Way

How he used America’s past to rescue its future.
by Jake Lundberg via The Atlantic
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on October 10, 2025
Illustration of a founding father standing in front of a distorted mirror.

What the Founders Would Say Now

They might be surprised that the republic exists at all.
by Fintan O’Toole via The Atlantic
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on October 10, 2025
Collage illustration of a founder, Declaration of Independence, and the body of an enslaved person whose arms are in chains.

Whose Independence?

The question of what Jefferson meant by “all men” has defined American law and politics for too long.
by Annette Gordon-Reed via The Atlantic
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on October 9, 2025

Absolute Values

Fara Dabhoiwala’s case against free speech.
by Len Gutkin via The Point
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on September 10, 2025
Broadside advertising a slave auction in Virginia in 1823.

Slavery Was Not Just Forced Labor but Sexual Violence Too

Calls to attenuate the brutality of slavery in museum depictions is absurd when our institutions already downplay one of its most horrific features.
by Channing Gerard Joseph via The Nation
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on September 3, 2025
A group of men in 19th-century clothing groom their beards.

The First Time America Went Beard Crazy

A sweeping new history explores facial hair as a proving ground for notions about gender, race, and rebellion.
by Margaret Talbot via The New Yorker
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on July 21, 2025
Statue of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln Wasn't Born an Abolitionist, He Became One

We live in polarized times when freedom is threatened but this Juneteenth we should remind ourselves that we have overcome far worse.
by Manisha Sinha via The UnPopulist on June 19, 2025
A racially diverse group of children saying the Pledge of Allegiance while one holds an American flag.

Who Gets to Be an American?

Since the earliest days of the Republic, American citizenship has been contested, subject to the anti-democratic impulses of racism, suspicion, and paranoia.
by Michael Luo via The New Yorker
This publication restricts nonsubscriber access to some or all of its articles.
on May 20, 2025
Mannequins model Black fashion ranging from ethnic apparel to suits.

Turning Style Into Power: How the Black Dandy Used Clothing to Challenge Authority

At the Met, "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" shows how clothing became a way for Black men to assert presence and push back against control.
by Richard Thompson Ford via The Yale Review on May 20, 2025
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