Critiquing Slavery in 1865
Culture
Eradicating Cholera in New York and the World
Reducing cholera in New York required money, infrastructure, leadership, and empathy.
Counting Down to a New Year: The History of Our Joyful Celebration
How did the ritual of celebrating the arrival of a New Year that once extended for days come to be compressed into just a few moments?
Joyous Kwanzaa: A Holiday Born of Afrocentrism and Black Nationalism
Kwanzaa provides time for contemplation and appreciation of an ancestry that the dominant culture generally downplays or ignores.
The 1915 World Series and the Rise of the Modern American Sports Fan
By 1915, politicians had begun to realize the value of publicly associating themselves with major league baseball.
A Toothless Vampire: The Evolution of American Halloween
The origins and evolution of Halloween illuminate shifting concerns about class, gender, and social change.
Whistling Dixie
Like minstrelsy itself, Daniel Decatur Emmett’s life was influential but regrettable and largely forgotten.
The History Channel and the Myth of American Exceptionalism
From The Winning of the West to Ice Road Truckers.
Ten Significant American Fires
Fire can be a terrifying and ruthless force for historical change.
The Pope Comes to Washington
The greetings accorded Pope Francis are a measure of how far the American tradition of anti-Catholicism has come.