George Washington's 'Founding War of Conquest'
The standing army, Native American opposition, and the high cost of territorial expansion
History
Let's Lay Off the 1930s Reenactments
Eroding faith in free markets and civil liberties, populist politicians, political street fights. Sound familiar?
The New Red Scare
The current debate over the alt-right has begun to display some of the same hallmarks of red scares past.
How Alexander Hamilton Screwed Up America
The foreword to a new history of our controversial Founder written by Ron Paul.
The Vietnam War Punctures Any Remaining Myths About the Conflict
Ken Burns and Lynn Novick hold politicians (both D and R) accountable.
Government Almost Killed the Cocktail
80 years after Prohibition, the Dark Ages of drinking are finally coming to an end.
CNN Looks Back at Elian Gonzalez Saga
Documentary navigates complex custody fight between Cuba, United States, and Cuban-Americans.
What to Do With Your Embarrassing Confederate Statue
Helpful tips on dealing with racist monuments.
Trump's Idea of Uniting the Country: Complaining About Removal of Confederate Memorials
But guess what happens whenever art gets in the way of one of his developments?
Charlottesville's Legacy Shaping Up As Exact Opposite of What Alt-Right Wanted
After this weekend's white-supremacist rally in Virginia, more Southern cities announce plans to take down Confederate monuments.
Trump's 'Fire and Fury' Wouldn't Be the First for North Korea
The Truman war council discussed using atomic bombs just two weeks after the Korean War started.
How Freedom Made Us Rich
Economist Deirdre McCloskey explains the roots of "The Great Enrichment" of the last 200 years.
Reefer Madness at The New York Times
America's Paper of Record, which officially turned against marijuana prohibition in 2014, spent most of the previous century credulously promoting it.
What Nancy MacLean Gets Wrong About James Buchanan
Democracy in Chains mangles the facts beyond recognition. But the book still has something to teach us.
Impeach Eisenhower!
Friday A/V Club: A beatnik, a president, and a radio station that the FCC wouldn't license
What Frederick Douglass Teaches Us about July 4th and American Exceptionalism
Douglass recognized that embracing freedom and liberty is a process that will continue to unfold and expand over time.
Libertarian History/Philosophy
Is Libertarianism a 'Stealth Plan' To Destroy America?
Nancy MacLean's conspiracy tract Democracy in Chains grossly misrepresents limited-government philosophy and the work of Nobel laureate James M. Buchanan.
Confederate Monuments Deserve to Go
Taking them down and putting up different statues is a reminder that in understanding the past, we shape the future.
'Atomic Humanism' and the Eco-Modernist Campaign to Promote Nuclear Power
"Only nuclear can lift all humans out of poverty while saving the natural environment."
We Could Have Had Cellphones Four Decades Earlier
Thanks for nothing, Federal Communications Commission.
The Indestructible Idea of the Basic Income
Is this the only policy proposal Tom Paine, Huey Long, Milton Friedman, Timothy Leary, and Sam Altman can agree on?
That Old-Time Civil Religion
Faith, dogma, and the constant reinvention of U.S. foreign policy
History Lessons Are Turning My Kid Into a Scofflaw (and I Couldn't Be Happier)
Looking at the past tests and develops the values you bring to your life-including a healthy contempt for authority.
Old Times There Are Best Forgotten
Why government-funded agencies should display Confederate symbols only at historic sites or museums
30 Days a Black Man: How Ray Sprigle Exposed Jim Crow in 1940s America [Reason Podcast]
"I have such a deeper appreciation for the punishment that black people received from their government for so long and the crass politics that perpetuated it."
100 Years After the Russian Revolution, Russians Are Still Paying
How much more developed would Russia be if it didn't suffer from nearly a century of communism?
Guerrilla Lobs Bombs at Romanticized History of '70s Violence
Political terrorism intersects with pettier motivations.
The Myth of Isolationism
No, the U.S. did not isolate itself from the world between World War I and World War II.
The Neighborhood of Make-Believe Prepares for War
Friday A/V Club: Mister Rogers gets grim.
Harlots Doesn't Sell Out When Detailing Lives of 18th Century British Hookers
New historical sex drama comes to Hulu.
Nuclear Home Movies
Friday A/V Club: The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is posting declassified footage of atomic tests on YouTube.
In the Gay Wedding Cake Wars, Christians Preheated the Oven
Today's religious freedom controversies got their start in the 19th century debate over outlawing polygamy.
