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The Effort to Preserve a Million Letters written by U.S. Soldiers during the World War II

by April White

A tragedy at home led one intrepid historian to find and catalog precious correspondence for future generations to study. 

High School AP Government Class Helps Families of Civil Rights Murder Victims After Lobbying Congress

by Ethan Ehrenhaft

An AP Government Class Helps Families of Civil Rights Murder Victims

African American Women's Work in the Underground Railroad Beyond Harriet Tubman

by Jazma Sutton

African American women, arguably the most vulnerable group in antebellum America, used every means at their disposal to escape slavery, liberate family members, assist in others’ self-liberation, and hold on to whatever measure of freedom they had achieved. 

6 Strategies Harriet Tubman and Others Used to Escape Along the Underground Railroad

From elaborate disguises to communicating in code to fighting back, enslaved people found multiple paths to freedom.

The Medieval History Behind Our Halloween Fascination With Skeletons

by Jack Hartnell

As such powerful markers of death, the medieval bones could also be made into more fantastical things.

The priceless history inside the Reagan Library, narrowly saved from a fast-moving wildfire

by Gillian Brockell

The article includes tweets and quotes from historians Glenda Gilmore, Douglas M. Charles, Peter A. Shulman, and Kevin Kruse. 

National Security Archive Publishes New Briefing Book on Nuclear Weapons and Turkey Since 1959

by William Burr

During Mid-1960s Turkish Officials Were Interested in Producing an “Atomic Bomb”

Is Georgetown’s $400,000-a-Year Plan to Aid Slave Descendants Enough?

University officials described the decision as one step in a dialogue with the descendants, who are seeking $1 billion.

John Conyers Jr., Longest serving African American in Congressional History, Dies at 90

by Adam Clymer

John Conyers passed away at age 90 this week, the sixth longest-serving U.S. Representative in history, having spent more than half a century representing Detroit, and the longest-serving Black congressperson, by far.

A dog helped kill Baghdadi, joining a long history of canine war heroes

On Sunday, another dog was added to the hall of canine heroes: A Belgian Malinois that tore after Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a darkened tunnel in Syria.

Rabies’ horrifying symptoms inspired folktales of humans turned into werewolves, vampires and other monsters

by Jessica Wang

The author's new book, “Mad Dogs and Other New Yorkers: Rabies, Medicine, and Society in an American Metropolis, 1840-1920,” explores the hidden meanings behind the ways people talked about rabies.

Zombie flu: How the 1919 influenza pandemic fueled the rise of the living dead

by Elizabeth Outka

 The rise of the living dead, though, has a surprising link to another recurring October visitor: the influenza virus.

A history of booing the president at MLB games, from ‘we want beer’ to ‘lock him up’

Herbert Hoover, Harry S. Truman, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama were all booed at baseball games. 

US Militarism, Having Provoked ISIL into Being, Kills Cult Leader Baghdadi

by Juan Cole

“Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,” the nom de guerre of the notorious Iraqi terrorist Ibrahim al-Samarrai, is dead, killed in a US special forces raid on his compound in Syria’s northwest Idlib province. 

Russia’s Long and Mostly Unsuccessful History of Election Interference

by Casey Michel

Trump’s willingness to allow foreign governments to influence American elections is historically unprecedented. Just how unprecedented becomes clear when you look back at the long history of attempts by foreign powers (almost always Russia) to tip an outcome to their advantage.

How Jack O’Lanterns Originated in Irish Myth

The name, jack-o'-lantern, comes from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack.

Nothing Can be Salvaged From Frederick Douglass' Time Capsule

The city historian said material in the time capsule dates back to 1898, with additional items being added in 1941, but nothing can be salvaged.

A History Of 'Quid Pro Quo'

The whole idea of a "quid pro quo" is so fundamental to the human experience that we have all kinds of ways to say it. Here, a look at how our understanding of "quid pro quo" has changed over time.

The Real History Behind The Current War

by Olivia B. Waxman

In the 1880s, Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, and Nikola Tesla went to battle over who had the superior technology for electrical transmission.

New York’s Race to Build Monuments Runs Into Friction on the Ground

The city’s plan to commemorate women, people of color and others overlooked in the past is leading to fights over who should be honored and how.