Dred Scott decision
Source: Independence Hall Association
Read about the 1857 Supreme Court case of Dred Scott v. Sandford and why people cite it today.
Historic Figures
Patriotism on Broadway
Source: The Economist
The timelessness and universality of Alexander Hamilton’s story is explored in this review of the popular hip-hop musical Hamilton.
Report on Desegregation in the Schools of Alabama, September 9, 1963
Source: PBS
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy announced the government’s intention to force Governor George Wallace to comply with the school desegregation order. Read this powerful speech about a decision that mattered to so many Americans.
My Attempt to Free Anne Frank’s Diary
Source: Dutch Genealogy
2015 marked the 70th anniversary of Anne Frank’s death. Anne’s legacy—her diary—should be available in the public domain on January 1, 2016 under Dutch law. But Dutch genealogist Yvette Hoitink explains a twist in the tale.
In Defense of Thoreau
Source: The Atlantic
Duke professor Jedediah Purdy makes a counter-argument to Kathryn Schulz’s “Pond Scum” essay in The New Yorker, which criticized Henry David Thoreau both as a writer and as a person.
Top 10 Ben Franklin Inventions
Source: How Stuff Works
A statesman, writer, and publisher, Benjamin Franklin also invented many practical products.
Aaron Douglas’s Magisterial Aspects of Negro Life
Source: New York Public Library
This text provides an overview of Harlem Renaissance painter Aaron Douglas. Click the images on the left to view some of his work in more detail and watch the video at the bottom for more background.
The World’s Oldest Papyrus and What It Can Tell Us About the Great Pyramids
Source: Smithsonian
A recently discovered treasure trove of papyri tells us more about ancient Egyptian life and culture. Read what a travel journal found with the other papyri reveals about the lives of everyday workers during the time period when the Pyramids were built at Giza.
Modern day Canterbury Tales refreshes Chaucer to tell the lost stories of refugees
Source: The Conversation
In June 2015, a group of academics set out to re-create The Canterbury Tales by walking 80 miles across the North Downs in England and telling the stories of refugees along the way. Their goal was to give a voice to those who are often unheard.
Mark Twain’s Eternal Chatter
Source: The New Yorker
Author Ben Tarnoff analyzes the celebrity of Mark Twain and critiques the writer’s autobiography, which was published in several volumes starting in 2010.