An Economist Repudiates Slavery With Dollars and Sense Arguments
John Elliott Cairnes' devastating critique of Southern society sinks the Confederacy's campaign to bond with Britain
American History Review: Big Ben, America’s Secret Agent
While in London, Benjamin Franklin helps foment a plot involving a slave that contributes to the colonies' separation from Great Britain
Roosevelt’s Drive to Break Up Utilities Brought Power to the People
In his first duel with Wendell Willkie, FDR campaigned against giant holding companies that soaked small electricity customers
American History Review: The Lady, the Legends, and a Letter to Lincoln: How Thanksgiving Evolved
Give credit for the national holiday to a woman who wouldn't give up
Collegiate Conundrum
For its faults, the Electoral College has endured because it has fulfilled its main purpose—preventing stolen elections
American History Review: The Long and Loathsome Story of the Case that Codified Jim Crow
Author explores the personalities of the men who argued Plessy v. Ferguson, one of the Supreme Court's worst decisions
The Electoral College: The Least Worst Way to Select a President
After 750 attempts to reform or eradicate it, the system remains in place
James Garfield’s Greatest Fear: Being Stained by the Credit Mobilier Corruption Scandal
The ambitious Ohio Republican dreaded being caught up with congressmen in complicated railroad scheme
1800: America’s First Explosive Election
Polarized partisanship, deep animosity among candidates, worry about the peaceful transfer of power—sound familiar?
American History Review: How Hostility Toward Elitism Created Political Paranoia
A new edition introduces historian Richard Hofstadter to the conspiracy theory generation
American History Review: How the Victors Divvied the Spoils at Yalta
Historian Preston argues that Stalin did not actually make patsies of Roosevelt and Churchill
Samuel Adams: Puritan. Patriot. Protestor.
Adams’s air in John Singleton Copley’s portrait suggests what it would have been like to have to face Adams in person.
How a 1948 Economic Downturn Nearly Ruined the Movie Industry
When Hollywood and its hoopla encountered a new set of hoops
The Mann Act: How a Law Meant to Help Women was Misused
An act meant to protect women wound up being a cudgel against common adulterers and men on the FBI's blacklist
American History Review: Gentlemanly Nathanael Greene’s Biggest Headache Was His Rude, Crude, and Successful Subordinate
Ungovernable guerrilla Thomas Sumter helped his straitlaced commander win the American Revolution in the South
American History Review: How the Colonists Beat Britain’s Best Generals
How an 'ill-armed peasantry' beat the daylights out of Clinton, Cornwallis, and a raft of professional soldiers
