Articles tagged as Political Leaders

A young JFK is all, like, "Whoa" when he gets taken from 1934 Connecticut to 2018 Palo Alto.

JFK’s Excellent Adventure: “Timeless,” Season 2, Episode 5 Recapped

We learn a lot about the once and future President, and he learns way too much about himself, in a tense twist with the past coming to the present

April 16, 2018

In the late 19th century, the Democratic Party (represented here by Grover Cleveland and his running mate Adlai Stevenson) was the party of free trade, while the GOP was the faction of harsh tariffs. By the late 20th century, these roles had completely reversed.

A History of America’s Ever-Shifting Stance on Tariffs

Unpacking a debate as old as the United States itself

April 12, 2018

Senator Edward Kennedy, pictured here on July 22, 1969 after the Chappaquiddick accident that resulted in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. The new film "Chappaquiddick" recounts the events of that week.

Why the True Story of ‘Chappaquiddick’ Is Impossible to Tell

In 1969, Senator Ted Kennedy careened a car off a bridge, killing passenger Mary Jo Kopechne, but the story of the night’s events remain muddled today

April 2, 2018

On April 4, 1968, when his campaign plane reached Indianapolis on that night, Robert F. Kennedy (above: in a 1968 portrait by Louis S. Glanzman) learned of Dr. King’s death.

When Robert Kennedy Delivered the News of Martin Luther King’s Assassination

Months before his own slaying, Kennedy recalled the loss of JFK as he consoled a crowd of shocked African-Americans in Indianapolis

April 2, 2018

Ahmad Shah (r. 1909–25) and his cabinet by Assadullah al-Husayni naqqash-bashi, 1910

In Persia’s Dynastic Portraiture, Bejeweled Thrones and Lavish Decor Message Authority

Paintings and 19th century photographs offer a rare window into the lives of the royal family

March 15, 2018

New Research

Polls Are Still As Accurate As They Were 75 Years Ago

A new study shows polling is not undergoing a collapse despite what conventional wisdom might suggest

March 14, 2018

The Library of Congress recently digitized this portrait of John Willis Menard, the only known photograph of the African-American trailblazer.

The International Vision of John Willis Menard, First African-American Elected to Congress

Although he was denied his seat in the House, Menard continued his political activism with the goal of uniting people across the Western Hemisphere

March 6, 2018

Take a Look Inside These Six Presidential Homes

The White House isn’t the only address worth visiting this Presidents’ Day

Updated: February 19, 2018 | Originally Published: January 20, 2017

Image from the cover of Emma Byrne's new book, Swearing is Good For You.

The Science of Swearing

A new book explains the neuroscience of why we swear—and how it can sway our listeners

January 30, 2018

Left: Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Terminal, 6th Street & Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C. Opened in 1873, demolished in 1908.
Right: View of the Constitution Avenue entrance, north side, of the National Gallery of Art.

A new campaign by historians seeks to bring recognition to the site where the 20th president was shot

January 25, 2018

An Italian marble sculpture of William Pitt the Younger as the Infant Hercules Strangling the Serpents Fox and North by Pieratoni (called ’Sposino’), c.1790

The Ugliest Sculpture Ever, Says the Portrait Gallery’s Director

A bizarre sculpture of a baby Hercules strangling two snakes set this art historian on a course of discovery

January 25, 2018

Tracey Crouch, who will oversee issues related to loneliness and isolation in the U.K.

Tracey Crouch will oversee the government’s efforts to tackle “the sad reality of modern life”

January 19, 2018

Hitler used shameless self-promotion and alternative facts to cast himself as a national hero.

Hitler Created a Fictional Persona To Recast Himself as Germany’s Savior

In 1923, Adolf Hitler wrote an embellished autobiography to convince Germans he was their natural leader

January 10, 2018

During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, President John F Kennedy discusses results of surveillance missions in Cuba

History of Now

How the Presidency Took Control of America’s Nuclear Arsenal

From Truman onwards, the ability to order a nuclear strike has shaped the office

January 5, 2018

Christine Keele at the Marlborough Street court

Christine Keeler, the British Model at the Heart of a 1960s Political Scandal, Is Dead at 75

Keeler had simultaneous relationships with a Conservative politician and a Soviet attaché, prompting concerns that she had revealed British state secrets

December 7, 2017

The president is reducing two massive National Monuments by millions of acres. Read the context behind the decision and what to expect going forward

December 6, 2017

Gaius Gracchus attempted to enact social reform in Ancient Rome but died at the hands of the Roman Senate in 121 B.C.

History of Now

Before the Fall of the Roman Republic, Income Inequality and Xenophobia Threatened Its Foundations

In a new book, history podcaster Mike Duncan describes what preceded Caesar’s rise to Emperor

November 16, 2017

What would the days, weeks, years after a nuclear explosion really look like? In 1983, Carl Sagan gave the public their first imagining.

When Carl Sagan Warned the World About Nuclear Winter

Before the official report came out, the popular scientist took to the presses to paint a dire picture of what nuclear war might look like

November 15, 2017

JFK, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnston, First Lady Jaqueline Kennedy and others watching the 1961 flight of astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

A Year Before His Presidential Debate, JFK Foresaw How TV Would Change Politics

Television’s first iconic president was remarkably prescient on the subject of TV

November 14, 2017

The queen, who was deposed by a coup led by American sugar planters, died more than 100 years ago, but is by no means forgotten

November 10, 2017