ARCHIVE:
History Lesson
-
Stop Eulogizing Gore Vidal
He was a racist and an elitist, forever mourning the decline of his era of aristocratic privilege.
-
Sick to His Stomach
John F. Kennedy’s 1960 speech on religious freedom gives Rick Santorum a bellyache—it shouldn’t.
-
The Mississippi River Ran Backward
The strange story of the massive 1811-12 New Madrid earthquakes, and why Midwesterners still haven’t gotten over them.
-
-
-
What the New Deal Accomplished
651,000 miles of highway. 8,000 parks. The Triborough Bridge. Do conservatives who attack the New Deal actually know what America gained from it?
-
The Many Lives of Hazel Bryan
In the most famous photo of the Civil Rights era, she was the face of white bigotry. You’ll never believe what she did with the rest of her life.
-
-
-
Stunning Photographs of Civil War Soldiers
1861 author Adam Goodheart discusses an amazing new exhibition, and his book about the start of the Civil War.
-
-
-
Orindatus Simon Bolivar Wall
A hero of African-American history whose story is forgotten because his descendants decided they were white.
-
Beware the Military-Industrial Complex
Eisenhower's farewell address has been completely misunderstood.
-
-
The Hidden History of the Espionage Act
The much-maligned 1917 law had a real purpose—stopping spies and saboteurs.
-
-
-
Rewinding the Kennedy-Nixon Debates
Did JFK really win because he looked better on television?
-
Too Big To Fail, the 1912 Version
How Wilson and Roosevelt tried to roll back the power of corporations.
-
Elena Kagan Could Have Been a Superb Historian
Two history professors read the nominee's undergraduate thesis.
-
The Case for Watered-Down Legislation
What health care reform advocates can learn from the 1957 Civil Rights Act.
-
The Old Soldier Hasn't Died
Forget about McChrystal; Obama's real problem is MacArthurism.