Compromise of 1877
Source: HISTORY
The Compromise of 1877 effectively ended Reconstruction, handing control of the last Republican-held southern states back to the Democrats. Read about what led to the compromise and its effects.
Historic Figures
Remarks by the First Lady at City College of New York Commencement
Source: The White House
Read this transcript of First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2016 commencement speech in which she advised students to celebrate the diverse backgrounds of the students at City College of New York and of the citizens of the United States.
Why Russians flock to Jack London’s California ranch 100 years after his death
Source: The Seattle Times
Read why Russians connect with one of America’s most respected writer’s work.
Rare Walt Whitman letter, written for a dying soldier, found in National Archives
Source: The Washington Post
During the Civil War, poet Walt Whitman made a habit of visiting sick and wounded soldiers in hospitals. Read to find out how a volunteer at the National Archives recently discovered a letter written by the poet on behalf of a dying Union soldier.
Researchers say Anne Frank perished earlier than thought
Source: CNN
In 2015, researchers at the Anne Frank House took a close look at the end of Anne’s life at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. This article explains how they discovered that Anne died at least a month earlier than the date that had previously been determined.
How to Beat Writer’s Block
Source: The New Yorker
All writers suffer “writer’s block” at some time. Two psychologists have developed an intervention to get writers back to telling their tales.
Pioneering Social Reformer Jacob Riis Revealed “How The Other Half Lives” in America
Source: Smithsonian
Read how journalist Jacob Riis exposed the living conditions of lower-class people in New York City in the late 1800s. View the slide show to examine his photography.
Modern History Sourcebook: Harriet Robinson: Lowell Mill Girls
Source: Fordham University
Read this first-person account by a woman who worked in the Lowell, Massachusetts, textile mill in the 1830s and 1840s. She describes the role women played in society at the time and recounts one of the first strikes in U.S. history.
‘Nurse, Spy, Cook:’ How Harriet Tubman Found Freedom Through Food
Source: NPR
Harriet Tubman funded her trips in part by cooking, and during the journeys she acted as provider to the slaves she helped escape.
Mathphilic
Source: The New Yorker
Physicists of today still build on Albert Einstein’s now century-old theory of general relativity. Learn about the genius of Einstein’s math.