In the midst of World War II, department stores across America were anticipating the biggest commercial Christmas rush in United States history. Fur coats, silk dinner pajamas, and ostrich capes became all the rage. But what … Read the article
One of my favorite stories from the long struggle for equality concerns the scientist Helen Hamilton Gardener. In 1889, she challenged the leading male exponent of female mental inferiority to examine a human brain and determine … Read the article
From the unbreakable family bonds and funding that fueled the War to the treacherous murder plots and extreme starvation in the Continental Army, here are five books about the American Revolution you might have missed.
In the Battle of Athens, Tennessee, returning veterans of WWII took up arms one last time against a corrupt political machine. To understand why they would risk their liberty and their lives—against a superior force with all … Read the article
The three branches of the U.S. federal government—executive, legislative, and judicial—keep each other in line through a system of “checks and balances.” What roles do each play? And who puts the brakes on the POTUS?
In his new book, Inventing Equality, Michael A. Bellesiles tracks the evolution of the battle for true equality in America through the men, ideas, and politics behind the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments passed at the … Read the article
How do you get involved in U.S. Democracy? Here’s a crash course on next-level civic participation. It’s time to put your money or your giant poster board sign where your mouth is.
On the last episode we featured from the … Read the article
My nonfiction book, A Brotherhood Betrayed: The Man Behind the Rise and Fall of Murder, Inc., takes place in Brooklyn in the 1930s, so I had no chance of interviewing participants or eyewitnesses. Instead, I pored … Read the article
Who’s responsible for the Electoral College? (Hint: There’s a wildly popular Broadway musical about him.) The Unknown History channel on Quick and Dirty Tips dishes on that and everything you need to know about the U.S. election process in the … Read the article
Huey Long: United States Governor, Senator, and perhaps one of its greatest demagogues. In the following excerpt from The Demagogue’s Playbook, Eric A. Posner examines how Long highlighted American democracy’s susceptibility to the demagogue in the … Read the article