Politics

The U.S. surgeon general wants updated warning labels on alcoholic beverages that highlight the increased risk of cancer tied to drinking alcohol.

Alcohol Consumption Raises the Risk of Seven Cancers, Says U.S. Surgeon General in a New Health Advisory

The "Nation's Doctor" has called for a cancer warning label on alcoholic beverages and suggests the recommended limits for alcohol consumption should be reassessed

Martin Van Buren in 1860. 

Martin Van Buren Created America's Partisan Political System. We're Still Recovering

The eighth president of the United States, the so-called little magician, saw political parties as the key to achieving power

An 1864 photo of General Ulysses S. Grant

Why Union General Ulysses S. Grant Issued an Order to Expel Jews From Certain Confederate States During the Civil War

An attempt to cut down on the illegal cotton trade, Grant’s decision, announced on this day in 1862, was immensely controversial and hounded him for years

The exhibition showcases political cartoons dating from 1909 to 2003.

See Winston Churchill Through the Eyes of the Political Cartoonists He Inspired

A new exhibition at London’s Imperial War Museum brings together political cartoons from around the world that celebrate and satirize the wartime prime minister

Merriam-Webster has been printing English dictionaries since 1831.

'Polarization' Is Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year for 2024

The winning word beat out finalists such as "demure," "pander," "totality," "fortnight," "allision" and "democracy"

The Orion spacecraft during the fifth day of the Artemis 1 mission on Nov 20, 2022

NASA Pushes Back America's Return to the Moon to 2027, With the Next Artemis Program Flight Slated for 2026

The space agency's decision comes after an investigation into the Orion spacecraft's heat shield, which suffered damage during the Artemis 1 test mission in 2022

A political cartoon depicting a footrace for the position of president in the 1824 election

When No Candidate Won the 1824 Presidential Election, the House of Representatives Was Given the Rare Task of Deciding the Victor

A "corrupt bargain" that delivered John Quincy Adams the presidency ended the Era of Good Feelings and prompted a new period of partisan hostility

Harvey Milk at the Gay Pride Parade, San Francisco on 23rd June 1978.

Harvey Milk, One of the World’s First Openly Gay Politicians, Was Assassinated on This Day in 1978

A disgruntled former San Francisco politician killed Milk and the city’s mayor, George Moscone

Machiavelli's The Prince was written in 1513 and printed in 1532.

A Rare First-Edition Copy of Machiavelli’s Notorious Political Treatise 'The Prince' Heads to Auction

This copy of the 16th-century text is owned by a private collector. Until recently, historians weren't aware that it existed

A white mob poses outside of the razed office of the Daily Record, a Black-owned newspaper in Wilmington, North Carolina, on November 10, 1898.

When White Supremacists Staged the Only Successful Coup in U.S. History

The 1898 Wilmington massacre left dozens of Black North Carolinians dead. Conspirators also forced the city's multiracial government to resign at gunpoint

Cyclists pass a preserved section of the Berlin Wall.

How the Berlin Wall Became a 100-Mile Bike and Pedestrian Trail

Once one of the world’s most dangerous border crossings, Berlin's symbol of death and division has been turned into a tangible way to experience history

Relatives of James Chaney, a Black man killed for his voting rights activism, at his funeral in 1964

These Black Americans Were Killed for Exercising Their Political Right to Vote

In the Jim Crow South, activists became martyrs at the hands of white racists, all for the just cause of using the vote to fight for equality and freedom

Statue of George Washington

George Washington’s Farewell to the Nation Marked the Birth of American Democracy

In 1796, the first president voluntarily left office, cementing the significance of a lofty ideal for his young country

NBC News' 1988 electoral map marked states won by Republican George H.W. Bush in blue and states won by Democrat Michael Dukakis in red.

When Republicans Became 'Red' and Democrats Became 'Blue'

The 2000 presidential election cemented the color-coded nature of political parties. Prior to that race, the colors were often reversed on electoral maps

Clark Stanley’s snake oil was a marketing gimmick from the very start. 

How Snake Oil Became a Symbol of Fraud and Deception

The terms “snake oil” and “snake-oil salesperson” are part of the vernacular thanks to Clark Stanley, a quack doctor who marketed a product for joint pain in the late 19th century

A selection of ballots from the 1860s shows a variety of the persuasive flourishes then in vogue.

Back in the 19th Century, Your Election Ballot Could Double as a Work of Art

During and after the Civil War, inventive illustrations allowed Democrats and Republicans to turn American ballots into powerful propaganda

U.S. Army Pfc. Chyna Williams (left) helps Staff Sgt. Janeen Butler at a voter assistance drive on a base in Qatar, 2008

What the Long History of Mail-In Voting in the U.S. Reveals About the Election Process

A recent exhibition shows how soldiers sent in votes during the Civil War and World War II, as many Americans would in 2020 following the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic

An 1860 photo of New-York Tribune editor Horace Greeley, who challenged President Ulysses S. Grant in the 1872 election

This Defeated Presidential Candidate, Once the 'Best-Known Man in America,' Died in a Sanatorium Less Than a Month After Losing the Election

Newspaper editor Horace Greeley unsuccessfully ran against incumbent Ulysses S. Grant in November 1872. Twenty-four days later, he died of unknown causes at a private mental health facility

Stella Stimson, a suffragist and temperance crusader, led an all-women campaign to document fraud at the polls and bring down a corrupt mayor.

When a Trailblazing Suffragist and a Crusading Prosecutor Teamed Up to Expose an Election Conspiracy

An unlikely duo exposed political corruption in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1914—and set a new precedent for fair voting across the country

Robert Imbrie's body arrived in Washington, D.C. on September 29, 1924.

A Century Ago, a Mob Brutally Attacked an American Diplomat in Persia. His Death Shaped U.S.-Iran Relations for Decades

The July 1924 killing of Robert Imbrie fueled the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty and set the stage for both a CIA-backed 1953 coup and the 1979 Iran hostage crisis

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