Current Events that Relate to History

A critique of a new history of American sexuality, arguing that queer and trans histories should challenge, not simply expand, traditional narratives.

Two books about the 1856 caning of a senator show how words can incite violence—and also help defeat it.

A personal remembrance of Barney Frank that explores Boston politics, urban renewal, and the generation of reformers who reshaped the city.

The semiquincentennial and why nostalgia can’t meet the moment.

Americans must live up to “the words that made us.”

To fight against slavery, the author collected true stories then picked up a pen and distilled them into “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”

Voting, a right not initially enshrined in the Constitution, has been secured, revoked, and contested since the nation's founding era.