Considering History: A Tribute to Steve Railton and the Best of American Education
Ben Railton pays tribute to his father by highlighting the most consistent throughline of his life: educational communities.
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Considering History: Concord, Protest, and Patriotism
Ben Railton commemorates some inspiring Concord figures that reflect critical patriotism as one of our most defining Revolutionary legacies.
Considering History: The Stooges, the Marx Brothers, and Comedy in Tough Times
The Stooges and the Marx Brothers emerged out of early 20th century vaudeville and became indispensable parts of American society during one of its bleakest periods.
Considering History: The New Deal and the Crucial Contributions of Federal Workers
At its heart, the New Deal was a series of programs through which federal workers reshaped America for the better.
Considering History: Langston Hughes and the Patriotism of Black History Month
Through his poetry, Langston Hughes expressed a youthful, stubborn, admirable resilience and optimism in the face of painful American realities.
Considering History: Remembering the 1965 Immigration Act
The anniversary of the 1965 Immigration Act is a good time to reflect on the American families and communities that immigrants have built and all they have contributed to the last sixty years of our continued effort to create a great society.
News of the Week: New York Neon, Jimmy Carter, and the Last Cigarette Commercial
In the news of the week ending January 3, 2025, are vanishing neon, Facebook fake friends, and Pop-Tart football.
News of the Week: Jaywalking, Voyager 1, and Do You Feel the Christmas Creep?
In the news of the week ending November 8, 2024, are illegal walking, Christmas creeping, and running for nothing.
Considering History: What We Talk About When We Talk About America
Our nation’s dualities are deeper and more defining than the divide between left and right.
Considering History: Take Us Home, Country Roads: West Virginia and American History
West Virginia, while one of the smallest states in the U.S., has played a significant role in American history, both reflecting and amplifying our defining debates and important issues.
Considering History: Anti-Immigrant Myths Have Been Strikingly Consistent — and Consistently Wrong
American Studies Professor Ben Railton takes a look at anti-immigrant myths, along with alternative perspectives that reveal how consistently wrong those myths have been.
Considering History: 19th Century Baseball and the Battle for America
These athletes of color embodied the possibilities of American professional sports in the early years of baseball.
Considering History: What a Virginia Highway Can Tell Us About Our History
The route that runs between Gettysburg and Monticello has been known by known several names, and each of them echoes more complex and fraught questions of historical memory.
Considering History: The End of Watergate and the Question of Presidential Immunity
Nixon’s resignation 50 years ago today reaffirmed multiple layers of checks on presidential power.
Considering History: The Troubling Story of Scalp Bounties
A powerful new film models how museums can engage our hardest histories.
Considering History: A Statue in Prague, Four Presidents, and the Meaning of American Democracy
The histories of the U.S. and Czechia are linked by multiple presidents of both countries.