The Father-Daughter Team Who Reformed America
Meet the duo who helped achieve the most important labor and civil rights victories of their age
The Little-Known Story of 19th-Century America's Partisan Warfare
In a new book, Smithsonian curator Jon Grinspan examines the history of America's furious and fractious politics
When Young Americans Marched for Democracy Wearing Capes
In 1880, a new generation helped decide the closest popular vote in U.S. history
To Stop an Endless Cycle of Corruption, History Says Fix the System, Not the Politician
A turn-of-the-century muckraker named Lincoln Steffens understood the true problem with a "throw the bums out" strategy
Whigs Swigged Cider and Other Voter Indicators of the Past
Throughout most of American history, what someone wore indicated their political affiliations as loudly as a Prius or a Hummer might today
How a Ragtag Band of Reformers Organized the First Protest March on Washington, D.C.
The first March on Washington was a madcap affair, but in May of 1894, some 10,000 citizens descended on D.C., asking for a jobs bill
Before SXSW and Ted, A Manic Visionary Revolutionized the American Lecture Circuit
Meet James Redpath, the man who coached national celebrities on how to bring a crowd to its feet
