History Now Essay I Hear America Singing Walt Whitman I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear, Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong, The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam, The mason singing his as he makes ready for work... Appears in: 39 | American Poets, American History Spring 2014
History Now Essay His Excellency General Washington Phillis Wheatley SIR, I Have taken the freedom to address your Excellency in the enclosed poem, and entreat your acceptance, though I am not insensible of its inaccuracies. Your being appointed by the Grand Continental Congress to be Generalissimo of... Appears in: 39 | American Poets, American History Spring 2014
History Now Essay “In the Name of America’s Future”: The Fraught Passage of the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act Maddalena Marinari Government and Civics Senator Patrick McCarran (D−NV) was seething after Congress renewed the 1948 Displaced Persons Act in 1950. Incensed, McCarran wrote to his daughter: “I met the enemy and he took me on the DP bill. It’s tough to beat a million or more... Appears in: 52 | The History of US Immigration Laws Fall 2018
History Now Essay The 1965 Immigration Act: Opening the Nation to Immigrants of Color Tom Gjelten Government and Civics Americans might think their country has always been open to all, but until 1965 people who were not white or did not come from northern or western Europe were not welcomed as immigrants. Only with the passage that year of a new... Appears in: 52 | The History of US Immigration Laws Fall 2018
History Now Essay Why I Embrace the Term Latinx Ed Morales When I first saw the word Latinx —best described as a gender-neutral term to designate US residents of Latin American descent—in print it seemed awkward and hard to pronounce. But rather than giving in to my first instinct, I came to... Appears in: 53 | The Hispanic Legacy in American History Winter 2019
History Now Essay Mexican Farm Labor and the Agricultural Economy of the United States Mary E. Mendoza Economics In July of 1958, a Mexican man in Empalme, Mexico, died outside a recruitment center for Mexican men who wanted to participate in a guest-worker program known as the Bracero Program. The program, designed and agreed upon by both the... Appears in: 53 | The Hispanic Legacy in American History Winter 2019
History Now Essay Sugar, Cigars, and Revolution: The Making of Cuban New York Lisandro Pérez Barely a week after arriving in New York, the young poet wrote to his mother: “One reason I am inclined to remain here is the constant communication there is with Havana; it is where I can easily and frequently receive news of my... Appears in: 53 | The Hispanic Legacy in American History Winter 2019
History Now Essay Mexicans in the Making of America Neil Foley Geography, Government and Civics Today more than one of every ten Americans claims Mexican descent or heritage. In 2017 Mexican-origin people accounted for 63 percent (thirty-five million) of the nation's total Latino population. By 2050 the Latino share of the... Appears in: 53 | The Hispanic Legacy in American History Winter 2019
History Now Essay Indians in the United States: Movements and Empire Sherally K. Munshi Until the turn of the twentieth century, there were relatively few restrictions on international migration. European imperialism and settler colonialism were sustained by mass migration—both the “free” migration of European settlers... Appears in: 65 | Asian American Immigration and US Policy Winter 2022
History Now Essay 파도와 메아리: Waves and Echoes of Korean Migration to the United States Kira Donnell, Soojin Jeong, and Grace J. Yoo Economics, Government and Civics, World History According to the 2020 US Census, 1.9 million Korean Americans reside in the United States. Among Asian Americans, they are the fifth-largest ethnic group and primarily reside in California, New York, Hawaii, and Texas. [1] This essay... Appears in: 65 | Asian American Immigration and US Policy Winter 2022
History Now Essay The Good Immigrants: How the Yellow Peril Became the Model Minority Madeline Y. Hsu Government and Civics, World History The United States harvested a bumper crop of good immigrants in 1955. About 1,000 highly educated Chinese gained citizenship, including acclaimed scientists, professionals, and entrepreneurs such as the architect I. M. Pei, the... Appears in: 65 | Asian American Immigration and US Policy Winter 2022
History Now Essay The Repeal of Asian Exclusion Jane Hong Government and Civics, World History The United States excluded Chinese people beginning in the late nineteenth century and expanded its ban to all Asians in the 1917 and 1924 Immigration Acts. In addition to creating a national origins quota system best known for... Appears in: 65 | Asian American Immigration and US Policy Winter 2022
History Now Essay "The Chinese Question"—Unresolved and Ongoing for Americans John Kuo Wei Tchen Government and Civics In 1882, the United States Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act—the nation’s first race-based immigration law that was not effectively repealed until 1965–1968. The act exempted Chinese merchants, diplomats, scholars, and... Appears in: 42 | The Role of China in US History Spring 2015
History Now Essay Chinese American Politics in the Cold War Years Charlotte Brooks Economics, Government and Civics In October 1950, the newly established People’s Republic of China entered the Korean War on the North Korean side against the United States and other United Nations troops. Many Chinese American citizens expressed deep concern at this... Appears in: 42 | The Role of China in US History Spring 2015
History Now Essay Postwar Taiwan and the USA Denny Roy World History 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Taiwan has been a showcase of liberalization under American encouragement, but also the primary irritant in US-China relations. A large island with a population of twenty-three million located about 100 to 150 miles off the coast of... Appears in: 42 | The Role of China in US History Spring 2015
History Now Essay America and the China Trade William R. Sargent Art, World History 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ On a quarter-mile strip of land in the bustling city of Canton (Guangzhou), China, trade was conducted between merchants from China and the eastern seaboard of America, beginning in 1784 and lasting until the mid-nineteenth century.... Appears in: 42 | The Role of China in US History Spring 2015
History Now Essay The Role of China in US History Warren I. Cohen Economics, Government and Civics, World History 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Today, our homes are filled with countless products "Made in China." Long before the American Revolution, thanks to British trade with China, many colonists were able to purchase Chinese furniture, wallpapers, silks, and porcelains.... Appears in: 42 | The Role of China in US History Spring 2015
History Now Essay Juan Felipe Herrera: Poet Laureate and Pioneer of Chicano Literature Francisco A. Lomelí Literature Juan Felipe Herrera, born to migrant parents Felipe Emilio Herrera and Lucha Andrea Quintana in Fowler, California, on December 27, 1948, is a writer unique for his unrelenting spirit of innovation. He boldly expands the boundaries of... Appears in: 66 | Hispanic Heroes in American History Spring 2023
History Now Essay Antonia Pantoja, a Nuyorican Builder of Institutions Lourdes Torres Antonia Pantoja was a fierce community organizer and builder of influential institutions. Throughout her life she created organizations that enhanced the lives of Puerto Ricans and other minoritized communities. She was a dreamer with... Appears in: 66 | Hispanic Heroes in American History Spring 2023
History Now Essay Voices of Democracy: Jovita Idár, the Idár Family, and the Struggle against Juan Crow Gabriela González Government and Civics In August 2023, the US Mint will release the Jovita Idár quarter, “the ninth coin in the American Women Quarters Program” authorized by Public Law 116–330. On its website, the Mint states that Idár’s “ideas and practices were ahead of... Appears in: 66 | Hispanic Heroes in American History Spring 2023
History Now Essay El enemigo de mi enemigo es mi amigo: Bernardo de Gálvez and the Battle That Saved the United States at Its Birth Larrie D. Ferreiro World History “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” goes the old adage, which is particularly apt when describing the relationship between Spain and the nascent United States during the War of American Independence. By 1775 when the war began,... Appears in: 66 | Hispanic Heroes in American History Spring 2023
Video: Book Breaks Jonathan Eig - "King, A Life" Government and Civics Jonathan Eig is a best-selling author. Order King, A Life at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank you for supporting our programs! ...
Essay The Early Republic Joseph J. Ellis In April of 1789 the ink on the recently ratified Constitution was barely dry when George Washington began the trek from his Mount Vernon plantation to the national capital at New York. The public reverence usually accorded to royalty...
History Now Essay The Vietnam War and the My Lai Massacre George Herring The murder of more than 400 Vietnamese civilians in My Lai and My Khe by US soldiers on March 16, 1968, stands as one of the darkest days in the nation’s military history. It left an indelible stain on America’s record in Vietnam, the... Appears in: 31 | Perspectives on America’s Wars Spring 2012
History Now Essay Women and Wagoners: Camp Followers in the American War for Independence Holly A. Mayer 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ An old tune called "The Girl I Left Behind Me" tells of a lovelorn soldier yearning to return home to his waiting fair maid. Although there is a good chance that this song was fifed during the Revolutionary War, the earliest... Appears in: 21 | The American Revolution Fall 2009
History Now Essay From the Editor Carol Berkin In this issue, HISTORY NOW looks at the efforts by women across two centuries to gain the right to vote and to enjoy equal opportunities within American society. The women’s rights movement, like the struggle by African Americans to... Appears in: 7 | Women's Suffrage Spring 2006
History Now Essay From the Editor Carol Berkin In this final issue of 2010, History Now offers readers a selection of the latest interpretations of the Civil War era by four leading historians. These essays remind us that this critical moment in the history of our nation continues... Appears in: 26 | New Interpretations of the Civil War Winter 2010
Video: Book Breaks Matthew F. Delmont - "Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad" Government and Civics Matthew F. Delmont is the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Professor of History at Dartmouth College. Order Half American at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided...
Video: Book Breaks C. W. Goodyear - "President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier" Government and Civics C. W. Goodyear is an author and historian based in Washington, DC. Order President Garfield at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank you for supporting...
History Now Essay The Declaration of Independence as Mission Statement in the Age of Lincoln Adam I. P. Smith Government and Civics At Gettysburg in 1863, Abraham Lincoln made the Declaration of Independence the moment of creation for the American republic from which all else had proceeded. In some mystical sense, the nation had been “conceived” in liberty and... Appears in: 67 | The Influence of the Declaration of Independence on the Civil War and Reconstruction Era Summer 2023
History Now Essay "All Should Have an Equal Chance": Abraham Lincoln and the Declaration of Independence Jonathan W. White In many ways, the Gettysburg Address reflects the culmination of Abraham Lincoln’s lifelong admiration for the principles of the Declaration of Independence. As a young man in 1838, Lincoln responded to the wave of mob violence... Appears in: 67 | The Influence of the Declaration of Independence on the Civil War and Reconstruction Era Summer 2023
History Now Essay Abraham Lincoln's "Apple of Gold": The Declaration of Independence Harold Holzer Government and Civics, Literature “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” [1] So Abraham Lincoln began the most famous speech of... Appears in: 67 | The Influence of the Declaration of Independence on the Civil War and Reconstruction Era Summer 2023
History Now Essay "Revered By All": The Declaration of Independence in the Reconstruction Era Douglas R. Egerton Government and Civics Although it was the speech that redefined the conflict and effectively changed the meaning of the Constitution, Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Gettysburg Address is often misunderstood today when it is not simply ignored, at least in American... Appears in: 67 | The Influence of the Declaration of Independence on the Civil War and Reconstruction Era Summer 2023
History Now Essay Self-Evident Truths: Black Americans and the Declaration of Independence Leigh Fought In 1776, as the ink on the Declaration of Independence dried, the Rev. Lemuel Haynes pointed out that Black Americans like himself lived under “much greater oppression than that which Englishmen seem so much to spurn at. I mean an... Appears in: 67 | The Influence of the Declaration of Independence on the Civil War and Reconstruction Era Summer 2023
History Now Essay From the Editor Carol Berkin The Declaration of Independence continues to be a central focus of attention both in our historical literature and in the defining of our national identity. In this issue of History Now , five distinguished scholars examine the impact... Appears in: 67 | The Influence of the Declaration of Independence on the Civil War and Reconstruction Era Summer 2023
Essay The Americas to 1620 Christopher L. Miller Geography, World History 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ At the end of the first millennium, most people in the Eastern Hemisphere had a firm sense of how the world was arranged, who occupied it, and how they had come to be where they were. Various sacred texts as well as long-standing folk...
Video: Book Breaks Walter Stahr - "Salmon P. Chase: Lincoln's Vital Rival" Government and Civics Walter Stahr is a New York Times bestselling author. Order Salmon P. Chase at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase through the link provided. Thank you for supporting our programs! ...