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Slavery

Harvard Law School Marks Ties to Slavery in New Plaque

Isaac Royall, Jr., who helped found the school in 1817, was a prosperous slaveholder

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Disassembled Childhood Home Is for Sale… on eBay

It has yet to receive any bids

New genealogical scholarship reveals more of the history of an enslaved man, named Chance Bradstreet, who once lived in this house in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

Newly Uncovered Documents Address the Mystery of One Slave’s Life

New details surrounding the identity of the enslaved man who once lived in the storied Ipswich house at the American History Museum

Looking at the east frieze of the Confederate Monument at Arlington National Cemtery in Arlington, Virginia, in the United States

History of Now

The Pernicious Myth of the ‘Loyal Slave’ Lives on in Confederate Memorials

Statues don’t need to venerate military leaders of the Civil War to promulgate false narratives

A print from Harper’s showing Quantrill’s raid on Lawrence, Kansas, August 21, 1863

The Wealthy Activist Who Helped Turn “Bleeding Kansas” Free

Newly minted abolitionist Amos Adams Lawrence funneled much of his fortune into a battle he thought America couldn’t afford to lose

Benjamin Lay said he was “illiterate,” but his antislavery arguments were erudite. This portrait, commissioned by Lay’s friend Benjamin Franklin, shows him with a book.

Secrets of American History

The “Quaker Comet” Was the Greatest Abolitionist You’ve Never Heard Of

Overlooked by historians, Benjamin Lay was one of the nation’s first radicals to argue for an end to slavery

While presidents have the power to pardon, their decision to use it isn't always popular. Just look at this anti-Ford button made in response to his pardoning of Richard Nixon.

History of Now

A Brief History of Presidential Pardons

The power bestowed upon the chief executive to excuse past misdeeds has involved a number of famous Americans

Charlotte Woodward Pierce was just a teenager when she signed the pro-women's-rights "Declaration of Sentiments." She was the only signer of that document to live to see women get the vote.

Only One Woman Who Was at the Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention Lived to See Women Win the Vote

Charlotte Woodward Pierce was a teenager at the Seneca Falls convention for women’s rights. She was 91 when women finally went to vote in 1920

Shearith Torah

Why Religious Freedom and Diversity Flourished in Early America

Jam-packed exhibition features artifacts as diverse as Jefferson’s Bible, a steeple bell cast by Paul Revere and a storied Torah

Josiah Wedgwood, of Wedgwood pottery fame, was also a staunch abolitionist and designed this medallion to further the cause.

This Anti-Slavery Jewelry Shows the Social Concerns (and the Technology) of Its Time

The ‘Wedgwood Slave Medallion’ was the first modern piece of protest jewelry

The hearth Hemings may have warmed herself by in Monticello's south wing.

Cool Finds

Sally Hemings Gets Her Own Room at Monticello

A renovation at Thomas Jefferson’s estate will give the slave he likely fathered at least six children with a display in what may have been her quarters

In traditional British cuisine, chicken would be far more likely to be boiled than fried.

The First Printed Fried Chicken Recipe in America

A white Virginian woman named Mary Randolph was the first to publish it, but fried chicken’s Southern history is deeper than ‘The Virginia Housewife’

Wearing white with a white headscarf to St. John's Eve is an important part of the celebration.

American South

Voodoo Priestess Marie Laveau Created New Orleans’ Midsummer Festival

Mardi Gras may be the city’s biggest party, but St. John’s Eve is its most important religious festival

The only way Robert Smalls could ensure that his family would stay together was to escape.

The Thrilling Tale of How Robert Smalls Seized a Confederate Ship and Sailed it to Freedom

He risked his life to liberate his family and became a legend in the process

Hattie McDaniel was the first black actor to ever win an Oscar, but she was criticized for the roles she played.

What Hattie McDaniel Said About Her Oscar-Winning Career Playing Racial Stereotypes

Hattie McDaniel saw herself as a groundbreaker for black Americans

Howard in 1893 at Governor's Island

The Namesake of Howard University Spent Years Kicking Native Americans Off of Their Land

Oliver Otis Howard was a revered Civil War general—but his career had a dark postscript

Monument Avenue In Richmond, Virginia

What Richmond Has Gotten Right About Interpreting Its Confederate History

And why it hasn’t faced the same controversy as New Orleans or Charlottesville

Savannah, Georgia during the Civil War. The southern landscape is often a key element of southern gothic fiction.

Why People Love Southern Gothic

From the 19th century to S-Town, it’s a compelling genre that’s as flawed as its most grotesque characters

First day of Memphis integration, TN by Dr. Ernest C. Withers, 1961

For Black Photographers, the Camera Records Stories of Joy and Struggle

The African American History Museum showcases for the first time signature photographs from its new collections

Belle Boyd in an image taken between 1855 and 1865.

Belle Boyd, Civil War Spy

The so-called “Siren of Shenandoah” stole weapons and carried letters in service to the Confederacy

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