History & historical ideas
Events, change over time and the ways people interpret the past.
Federal Government and the U.S. Economy, 1932–1980
From the Depression-era New Deal to the political debates of the 1960s and 1970s, federal economic responsibilities expanded substantially, though they were never unlimited or uncontested. The examples show both lasting federal programs and continuing disputes over who should act, who should pay, and how much authority Washington should have.
Colonial Change and the American Revolution, 1700–1776
A qualified argument that political conflict over authority most directly turned social and economic change into a revolutionary movement. Popular protest, consumer boycotts, women’s participation, and Britain’s response illustrate how resistance widened and escalated by 1774.
The Webster–Hayne Debate and Sectional Politics, 1830–1865
Webster’s defense of national unity served the political purpose of making national action possible across state lines. From Missouri-era sectional disputes through expansion and the free-soil movement, political conflict increasingly centered on slavery’s future in the West. The later crisis over secession echoed the question of national versus state authority but unfolded on a far more consequential scale.
Economic Development and U.S. Migration Across Regions
An explanatory essay traces how changing economic opportunities shaped internal migration from 1890 to 1945, then compares the postwar South and West, while noting the distinct forces that mattered in each region.
U.S. Foreign Policy and Global Change, 1890–1930
An argument that U.S. foreign policy from 1890 to 1930 combined an expanding claim to authority in the Western Hemisphere with an ambitious but contested effort to shape international order after World War I.
Cold War Origins: Economic Security or Soviet Expansion?
Pollard emphasizes economic security as a cause of early Cold War policy, while Patterson stresses perceived Soviet threats. The Marshall Plan supports Pollard’s explanation; the Truman Doctrine provides a distinct development that strengthens Patterson’s security-centered argument.
Cold War Policies and the End of the Cold War, 1945–1991
The Reagan administration’s nuclear policy provoked both mass protest and doubts among its own advisers. Later negotiations helped ease U.S.–Soviet tensions, but the evidence supports viewing them as one contributor—not a complete explanation—for the Cold War’s end.
U.S. Government Policy and Political Change, 1783–1860
An evidence-based historical argument connects early-republic policies that widened political participation to contrasting responses to political change, then explains how the Kansas–Nebraska Act intensified sectional divisions.
European and Native American Conflict, 1500–1763: Causes and Their Importance
Conflict between Europeans and Native Americans grew from material competition and struggles over political authority, while cultural and religious differences shaped but did not dictate how encounters unfolded. Comparing early expeditions, colonial wars, trade, and alliances shows how the importance of these causes varied over time.
Mary Church Terrell and Black Women’s Organizing, 1865–1945
Terrell’s 1897 address called Black women to combine equality advocacy, racial pride, and organized service. Reconstruction-era institution building helped make that call possible, and its principles find a clear later expression in Black women’s participation in the 1913 suffrage procession.
Competing Interpretations of the American Revolution
A comparison of Gordon-Reed’s and Breen’s interpretations, using the election of 1800 and the Great Compromise to examine both the Revolution’s unequal promise of liberty and its transformation of political institutions.
The Fourteenth Amendment and Reconstruction, 1865–1877
An explanatory essay on how the Fourteenth Amendment shifted responsibility for protecting individual rights toward the federal government during Reconstruction, while leaving enforcement and political conflicts unresolved.