History of Now

Vice President-designate Gerald Ford holds up a copy of Evergreen Review, a magazine which Ford described as obscene. One of Ford's charges against Douglas was that he had allowed an article he had written to be published in Evergreen.

The History of American Impeachment

There’s a precedent that it's not just for presidents

Mobster Frank Costello testifying before the Kefauver Committee.

How Watching Congressional Hearings Became an American Pastime

Decades before Watergate, mobsters helped turn hearings into must-see television

GIFs began as still images in the early days of the Internet before becoming the animated loops that are seen everywhere now.

A Brief History of the GIF, From Early Internet Innovation to Ubiquitous Relic

How an image format changed the way we communicate

Suburban single-family homes in Fresno, California.

The Racial Segregation of American Cities Was Anything but Accidental

A housing policy expert explains how federal government policies created the suburbs and the inner city

Joe Pyne Was America's First Shock Jock

Newly discovered tapes resurrect the angry ghost of Joe Pyne, the original outrageous talk show host

John Frankenheimer's classic The Manchurian Candidate built upon the idea of brainwashed GIs in Korea.

The True Story of Brainwashing and How It Shaped America

Fears of Communism during the Cold War spurred psychological research, pop culture hits, and unethical experiments in the CIA

Draft of The Balfour Declaration with handwritten notes, 1917

How a Single Paragraph Paved the Way for a Jewish State

The Balfour Declaration changed the course of history with just one sentence

The Bath School bombing in 1927 remains the deadliest school massacre in U.S. history.

The 1927 Bombing That Remains America’s Deadliest School Massacre

More than 90 years ago, a school in Bath, Michigan was rigged with explosives in a brutal act that stunned the town

The facade of the U.S. Appraiser's Building on 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco, California

A Federal Immigration Building With a Dark Past

In post-war San Francisco, discrimination against Chinese immigrants resulted in tragedy

President Donald Trump, accompanied by Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, speaks on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

How White House Chiefs of Staff Help Govern

According to Chris Whipple’s new book, an empowered chief of staff can make a successful presidency

After Brexit, A Tiny German Town Will Become the Center of the EU

Residents of the area thought the announcement was an April Fool’s joke

The Tennis Court Oath in June 1789 marked the unification of the French Estates-General, who came to call themselves the National Assembly. In the oath, they vowed not to separate until they established a constitution.

Why Is France in Its Fifth Republic?

An explainer on the many evolutions of the country's government

George Washington, 1795-1796

George Washington Had Nothing Good to Say About Nepotism

The first president was exceedingly wary of any semblance of impropriety

From the Smithsonian National Museum of American History

This Jigsaw Puzzle Was Given to Ellis Island Immigrants to Test Their Intelligence

A confusing set of blocks could seal their fate

Despite their many differences, Jackson and Warren both have a deep populist streak.

Is Elizabeth Warren the Real Jacksonian on Capitol Hill?

Warren has progressive values, but her populism is just like Andrew Jackson’s

President Richard Nixon smiles alongside Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren, even though the two waged political war against each other for decades

The Inside Story of Richard Nixon’s Ugly, 30-Year Feud with Earl Warren

Their dislike for each other set the tone for Supreme Court politics for decades to come

Illustration titled, “If you want to get rid of mosquitos, drain the swamp that breeds them.” (1909)

The Myth That Washington Was a Swamp Will Never Go Away

It makes for a catchy slogan used by politicians of all persuasions, but there's little truth to it

Puerto Ricans were granted U.S. citizenship on the eve of America's entry into the First World War. This picture comes from 1906 and shows the officer staff of the Regiment of Infantry.

Puerto Ricans Got U.S. Citizenship 100 Years Ago—But Their Identity Remains Fraught

Even a century later, those who live in the U.S. territory have little autonomy

An 1851 map of the United States shows Texas and the New Mexico, Utah and Indian Territories.

For More Than 150 Years, Texas Has Had the Power to Secede…From Itself

A quirk of a 19th-century Congressional resolution could allow Texas to split up into five states

A collage of the work distributed by the British propaganda effort.

The Fake British Radio Show That Helped Defeat the Nazis

By spreading fake news and sensational rumors, intelligence officials leveraged “psychological judo” against the Nazis in World War II

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