On “The Nation” and Empire
Our magazine has refused to accept what contributor Gore Vidal once described as the “cozy unremitting war” that puts this country in a state of conflict, year after year.
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Cover art by Victor Juhasz
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Our magazine has refused to accept what contributor Gore Vidal once described as the “cozy unremitting war” that puts this country in a state of conflict, year after year.
The pamphleteer’s insistence that America live up to its revolutionary vows still rings true 250 years later.
Five progressive leaders offer a powerful reminder of the country's unfinished journey.
A conversation with the veteran broadcaster on threats to press freedom—and what the press is really for.
The jazz legend fought for nearly 80 years to clear his father of racially motivated charges.
Our national bird isn’t what we believe it to be—but it is the perfect bird for an imperfect country.
The Supreme Court’s decision is a cruel blow to our democracy. But our efforts to ensure that every American has the representation and resources they deserve will not stop.
The senator may be remembered as a bridge between the promise of America and the fulfillment of that promise.
The debate over our national experiment is as old as the country, and as new as this issue of The Nation.
This country cannot deliver on its promises until we collectively act to to ensure equal protection for all.
Christian nationalists keep forgetting what the country’s founders kept writing down.
Dismantling the cult of personality created around the founding era's plutocratic foe of democracy.
The promise of democratic governance was stolen from the people. We must win it back.
Roosevelt understood that freedom that extends from economic security.
His take on history arms youth with the courage to “transform the world.” It’s no wonder the right aims to erase it.
Throughout US history, social movements—from reformist to radical—have returned to the language and ideals of 1776.
If we’re going to make it another 250 years, the Constitution is going to have to move beyond preserving political and civil rights to protecting economic and social rights.
The nation can thank the Supreme Court for its periods of turmoil. It’s time for a new jurisprudence.
If America must observe its 250th anniversary, let it be by taking stock of Reconstruction’s unfinished mission.
Natives have nothing to celebrate as the United States stages another sick-making festival of self-congratulation.
My path to US citizenship was a long and difficult one.
The story of my people, and my country.
What I’ve learned about America from six decades in the struggle.
This nation’s DNA is a double helix of beauty and brutality.
The premises of the American democratic vision must be applied to the economy if we are to be free in all alreas of life.
From Indigenous practices to the Green New Deal, our country has always focused on prioritizing our planet.
More than one founding father knew that to be truly free, women needed control over their reproduction.
The gap between what the numbers say and how people are feeling has only grown wider.
It begins with building back a strong union movement
rooted in deep solidarity.
It’s never been afraid to play fast and loose and big.
The effort to transform the United States’ founding document into a vehicle for egalitarian politics.
From the outset the United States was founded to protect both freedom and slavery.
Better to start the history of the United States in 1492 than in 1776.
The United States’ founding moment from Washington Crossing the Delaware to the paintings of Jacob Lawrence, Kara Walker, and Kent Monkman.