Why Eisenhower Sent the 101st Airborne to Little Rock After Brown v. BoardWhen the governor of Arkansas failed to integrate Central High School, President Eisenhower called in federal troops to protect the Little Rock Nine.Read more
How FDR’s ‘Fireside Chats’ Helped Calm a Nation in CrisisAs Americans confronted a banking crisis, the Great Depression and then World War II, FDR talked to Americans through radio broadcasts.Read more
A Survivor of the Last Slave Ship Lived Until 1940Matilda McCrear came to the United States on the Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive on U.S. shores.Read more
How One 17th-Century Italian City Fended Off the PlagueThe town of Ferrara managed to avoid even a single death from the widespread contagion. How did they do it?Read more
Why John Adams Defended British Soldiers in the Boston Massacre TrialsThe future American president represented Redcoats accused of murdering American patriots in an incident that helped spark the Revolution.Read more
How the Union Pulled Off a Presidential Election During the Civil WarFearing Abraham Lincoln would lose reelection, some wondered if the country should delay the election.Read more
What Went Wrong on Apollo 13?It was supposed to be the third-ever moon landing. It turned into a rescue mission.Read more
Quarantined for Life: The Tragic History of US Leprosy ColoniesStripped of their most basic human rights, patients nonetheless built lives and communities.Read more
How President Taft Established Income TaxRepublican president William H. Taft successfully advocated for a permanent, national income tax.Read more
What Language Did Jesus Speak?While historians and scholars debate many aspects of Jesus’ life, most agree on what language he mainly spoke.Read more
Before Vaccines, Doctors ‘Borrowed’ Antibodies from Recovered Patients to Save LivesDoctors first tried injecting patients with blood plasma in the early 1900s. The method has been used against diphtheria, the 1918 flu pandemic, measles and Ebola.Read more
When Polio Triggered Fear and Panic Among Parents in the 1950sSince little was understood about the virus that left some paralyzed and others dead, fear filled the vacuum.Read more