Susan Glaspell won her place in American history by demonstrating that sexual differences matter, that women could not protect themselves from abusive husbands unless they could sit on juries.
Politics & Economics
An Ode to the Suffrage Organizer
With women’s history month having drawn to a close, it is a good time to reflect on the suffrage movement and more particularly, on the role of the suffrage organizers.
How the Federal Government Saved New Orleans from Disaster a Century Ago
Charles Lundene, a Swedish sailor, arrived in New Orleans from who knows where around the beginning of May 1914. By late June, he was living at a homeless shelter, where he developed a severe fever.
Pot Politics: Medical Marijuana Past and Present
Senators Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Rand Paul recently joined together to announce their co-sponsorship of a senate bill that would ostensibly pave the way for legalized medical marijuana in the United States.
What Tools Not To Use In Political Fighting: A Pocket Guide
If you pay attention to how people discuss politics online in social media, you might feel your head spinning. Far too many people on left and right are insisting not only that their adversaries are somehow bad for America, but that they’re traitors, or that they’ve committed sedition, or that they’ve violated the Logan Act.
Exhuming President Taylor
President Zachary Taylor died on July 9, 1850, five days after becoming ill at a Fourth of July celebration. He apparently overindulged on raw cherries and iced milk; his doctors cited the cause of death as “acute gastroenteritis.”
The Dark Horse Danger: Democratic Lessons for Republicans in 2016
As a host of Republican Party big-wigs – from rapid-rise newcomers like Marco Rubio and Rand Paul, to familiar stalwarts like Mitt Romney and Jeb Bush – position themselves for the 2016 presidential nomination, we can look to history for insight as to the problems of a crowded field.
The Tragic Life and Cold Death of Schuyler Colfax
On January 14, 1885, the New York Times carried a headline that read “Schuyler Colfax Dead; He Drops Down in a Railway Station.” While this would be a sad headline to describe anyone’s death, it was made a bit more awful by the fact that Schuyler Colfax was a former Vice President of the United States and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
From Pirates to Presidents: The Long Reach of America’s Illegal Slave Trade
On January 1, 1808, a new United States law prohibiting the international slave trade went into effect. The same law also strengthened punishments for Americans caught participating or financing the international trade.
Presidential Press Conferences, Women, and Vera Glaser
During his December 2014 White House press conference, President Obama called exclusively on female reporters.