Henry Louis Gates Jr. and the Long Arc of Reconstruction

In his new book, Gates argues that the history of American democracy has always been one of constant push and pull.

Robert Greene II

The Class Politics of the Civil War

By naming a common enemy—the privileged class of slaveholders—the Republican Party and Union Army were able to build and then steer a coalition of Americans toward the systematic destruction of slavery.

James Oakes

The Long and Grim Road to ‘Plessy v. Ferguson’

Steven Luxenberg’s new book offers a vivid account of the events that led to the ruling.

David Cole

Remembering Tony Horwitz, Intrepid Traveler and Chronicler of the South

A kindred spirit to Frederick Law Olmsted, Horwitz heard antebellum echoes everywhere.

Jamie Stiehm

‘Loyal Slave’ Monuments Tell a Racist Lie About American History

These monuments—nearly all of them still standing—prop up the fantasy that slaves were happy, loyal, and devoted to those who enslaved them.

Kali Holloway

2019 Will Be the Worst Year of Trump’s Life 

John Nichols on the White House, Sarah Jaffe on the LA teachers’ strike, and Sean Wilentz on slavery and the constitution.

Start Making Sense and Jon Wiener

Letters From the November 19-26, 2018, Issue

Fact in fiction… AOC prepares for DC… Performing patriarchy…

Our Readers and Elias Rodriques

Congress’s History of Violence

A new history of the antebellum years reminds us that politics on Capitol Hill has never been civil.

Andrew Delbanco

Frederick Douglass’s 19th Century

A new biography gives an account of both Douglass’s political and personal life that will likely remain the standard for years to come.

Eric Foner

The Reverend Elijah P. Lovejoy, Editor of the ‘Alton Observer,’ Dies at the Hands of a Pro-Slavery Mob, Alton, Illinois (1837)

Melissa Range