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Yesterday’s news is today’s history.​
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History of Book Burning in the United States
Book burning in United States history has occurred as a form of censorship and cultural cleansing, which is frequently linked to moral panic, oftentimes provoked by political and social conflicts. Early examples include the banning and burning of anti-slavery (Abolitionist) literature in the South before and during the American Civil War. In 1873, the U.S. Congress passed the Comstock Act which prohibited the mailing of obscene, lewd, or lascivious materials, including contraception and information about abortion. As a result of this Act, the U.S. Postal Service confiscated and destroyed a significant amount of material, including books, frequently by fire. Recent incidents have involved the burning of books which include LGBTQ+ themes, as well as works like the Harry Potter and Twilight series. ​
Witness to Atrocity:
A G.I.’s World War II Photography featuring the Buchenwald Concentration Camp
Content Warning and Viewer Discretion is Strongly Advised.
This specific article contains graphic, unedited photographs depicting the realities and horrors of war, including potentially disturbing images of death, destruction, and crimes against humanity. Some content may be unsettling or triggering for certain individuals. If you are sensitive to graphic imagery, have experienced trauma, or find such images distressing, please proceed with caution or consider not viewing pictures in this article.
What Was the Antebellum Period?
​In the years before the Civil War, the United States was rapidly expanding geographically, economically, and politically. This era, roughly spanning from the end of the War of 1812 (which lasted until 1815) to the start of the Civil War in 1861, is often called the “antebellum” era, after the Latin term for “before the war.”
Crossroads of Recent Events and U.S. History
How the Sears, Roebuck & Co. Catalog Outsmarted Jim Crow
The Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog was a mail‑order catalog that was in business from 1888 to 1993. It sold the same stove, suit, or pair of boots to anyone at the same printed price. When Rural Free Delivery brought the Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog to Black families’ mailboxes, it turned shopping from a ritual of humiliation and unfairness into something closer to dignity. This short video explains how the Sears mail‑order catalog quietly outsmarted Jim Crowism (racial segregation and discrimination).
New details emerge about Japan's notorious WWII germ warfare program
The release of WWII-era military documents this year has given a boost to researchers digging into Japan's notorious germ warfare program, which lasted from 1936 to 1945. And in China, the premiere of a film about this gruesome episode in history was postponed without explanation, causing an online outcry.