"On January 6, my wife and I watched the live news broadcasts in disbelief at the scenes unfolding on television, as a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol and interrupted the constitutionally mandated joint session of Congress presided over by the vice president to ratify the 2020 election results.

“The Transcontinental Railroad was completed 150 years ago, in 1869. In 1800s America, some saw the railroad as a symbol of modernity and national progress. For others, however, the Transcontinental Railroad undermined the sovereignty of Native nations and threatened to destroy Indigenous communit

“In October 1792, the United States of America was still a new country, not even a decade old, fresh from a complete government overhaul just four years earlier. With only one federal election by that point, and one president, it was a nation long on ambition, but short on history. There were hero

“I’m a Stonewall skeptic. I don’t doubt that it happened, but I question how it has been used over the years. Because this is a big anniversary year, there is a compulsion to heroize the people who were there and elevate the event. Those sweaty summer nights of rebellion were certainly import

In this post, readers join a New York architect in 1968 as he explores the usefulness of the Empire State Building and its potential for the future.  Including a portion of the architect’s testimony to the Y Supreme Court, this blog asks readers to consider the non-monetary value of a stru

“For Michael and Robert, the quick peck before a walk around the lake with Michael’s son was an ordinary moment. For J. Ross Baughman, it was the moment he was positioned for and waiting to capture. Gay Dads Kissing was a history-making photograph that continues to hearten and resonate with many

“Impeachment is actually a vote to put the president on trial, not a trial or a conviction. The sitting president can be impeached for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors,” as defined in Article 2, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution. Conviction and removal from office, fol

“"It was now quick work," Maria Mitchell noted. "As the last rays of sunlight disappeared, the corona burst out all around the sun, so intensely bright near the sun that the eye could scarcely bear it." Maria Mitchell brought a team of Vassar graduates—"Vassar girls" as the press called

“The word “philanthropy” has had different meanings throughout American history, and the changing fortunes of the word reflect various eras’ debates about exercising power through giving. African American women in Philadelphia presented this fireman’s presentation trumpet to white firemen

“One of the most infamous tragedies in American manufacturing history is the Triangle shirtwaist factory fire of 1911. You may recall the story—how a blaze in a New York City sweatshop resulted in the fiery death of 146 people, mostly immigrant women in their teens and 20s. When workers found ex