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The Lingering Legend of Abraham Lincoln's Ghost
Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States (1861-1865), is remembered for his vital role as the leader in preserving the Union during the Civil War and beginning the process that led to the end of slavery in the United States. He's remembered for his ...read more
How U.S. Employers Have Handled Pregnancy in the Workplace
As the only industrialized nation in the world with no federal policy mandating paid maternity leave, the United States has a long and complicated history of how employers have handled pregnancy in the workplace. From mandating reduced hours for pregnant employees to waffling on ...read more
When a 19th-Century ‘Spirit Photographer’ Claimed to Capture Ghosts Through His Lens
Even 150 years later, the eerie spirit photographs taken by Boston photographer William Mumler pack an emotional punch. A mourning mother is visited by the angelic silhouette of her departed daughter, the young girl resting her tiny hand on her mother’s lap. A mutton-chopped ...read more
How FDR Became the First—And Only—President to Serve Four Terms
On November 5, 1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt broke a long-held precedent—one that started with George Washington—when he became the first president elected to a third term. Roosevelt would go on to vie for, and win, yet a fourth term, taking office again on January 20, 1945. FDR ...read more
What Inspired 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'?
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow resurfaces every year around Halloween. Washington Irving's 1820 tale of a headless horseman who terrorizes the real-life village of Sleepy Hollow is considered one of America's first ghost stories—and one of its scariest. But Irving didn’t invent the ...read more
The Ships of Christopher Columbus Were Sleek, Fast—and Cramped
On August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus and his crew set sail from the port of Palos in southern Spain on three vessels: la Santa Clara (Niña), la Pinta and la Santa Gallega (Santa Maria). Two of the ships, the Niña and Pinta, were tiny by today’s standards—only 50 to 70 feet ...read more
Halloween Costumes That Disguised, Spooked and Thrilled Through the Ages: Photos
You can tell a lot about a particular era of American history by looking at its Halloween costumes—not just what people are afraid of, but also what’s popular in entertainment and who’s running for president. Halloween has evolved into the main costume holiday in the United ...read more
When Whiskey Was the Backbone of the US Economy
Whiskey—a liquor whose origins in medieval Scotland or Ireland remain murky—once was an uncommon, exotic liquor in the 13 colonies, where rum, gin and brandy were the strong drinks of choice. But during and immediately after the Revolutionary War, that all changed. Whiskey became ...read more
Why Columbus Day Courts Controversy
Over 500 year after he "discovered" the New World—kicking off centuries of exploration and colonization of the Americas—Christopher Columbus is still honored with a federal holiday on the second Monday of every October. As historians have continued to dig into the life of ...read more
The Real Stories Behind Classic Horror Movies
How do you make a horror tale scarier? Just say it’s “based on a true story.” That’s a technique book publishers and movie producers have been using for decades, whether or not the supposedly “true story” adds up. Some movies are inspired by what might be called “real ...read more
How Trick-or-Treating Became a Halloween Tradition
Trick-or-treating—setting off on Halloween night in costume and ringing doorbells to demand treats—has been a tradition in the United States and other countries for more than a century. Its origins remain murky but traces can be identified in ancient Celtic festivals, early Roman ...read more
12 Surprising Facts About the Powers of the Senate and House of Representatives
The executive branch enforces laws. The judicial branch interprets laws. But it is in the law-making legislative branch, says Howard Schweber, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin, “that the people deliberate and arrive at an agreement about the common ...read more
When Gandhi’s Salt March Rattled British Colonial Rule
Since the late-1910s, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi had been at the forefront of India’s quest to shake off the yoke of British colonial domination, otherwise known as the “Raj.” The thin and abstemious former lawyer had led civil disobedience against colonial policies, encouraged ...read more
This Mexican American Teenager Spent Years in a Japanese Internment Camp—On Purpose
The station was filled with worried faces and hushed voices. Soon, those who gathered there would leave their lives and livelihoods behind as prisoners of the internment camps where over 110,000 people of Japanese descent—most American citizens—would be incarcerated for the ...read more
The Election of One of the First Latino Congressmen Was Contested—Twice
When Romualdo Pacheco walked up to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1877, he’d already served in nearly every government capacity in the still-new state of California. Now, the charismatic politician had broken another barrier as one of the first-ever Latino Congressman. ...read more