Articles on US history

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Russell Nelson, center, sits during the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ biannual General Conference in Salt Lake City in 2019. George Frey/Getty Images

Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, pushed it away from ‘Mormon’ – a word that has courted controversy for 200 years

Russell M. Nelson pushed the church away from members’ longtime nickname, ‘Mormons’ – a term that has shaped other Americans’ view of the church for 200 years.
A monument to survival and perseverance has survived, by happenstance, to share its stories today. Courtesy of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA) at Old Salem

A staircase in a small, decorative arts museum tells a harrowing story of terror, abuse and enslavement

The staircase was originally acquired due to its craftsmanship. Only later did scholars realize that it was where Harriet Jacobs suffered abuse at the hands of her enslaver.
Eureka, what an idea! TU IS/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Who invented the light bulb?

Thomas Edison is just part of the answer, and the light bulb is just part of what he achieved.
The building in Media, Penn. where burglars in 1971 found evidence of decades of FBI abuses against citizens. Betty Medsger

Trump’s targeting of ‘enemies’ like James Comey echoes FBI’s dark history of mass surveillance, dirty tricks and perversion of justice under J. Edgar Hoover

Donald Trump has a partisan ally running the FBI. He’s urged retribution against his perceived enemies. Will today’s FBI repeat the vast, unconstitutional persecutions of the J. Edgar Hoover era?
The Mississippi National River & Recreation Area provides access to water activities right in the middle of the metropolitan area of Minneapolis-St. Paul. David Joles/Star Tribune via Getty Images

Hidden treasures of America’s national parks are closer than you might think

These sites of national significance hold surprising treasures no less wondrous than the big-name destinations, potentially right around the corner from your home.
James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, participates in the National Day of Prayer ceremony at the White House on May 3, 2007. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

By ‘focusing on the family,’ James Dobson helped propel US evangelicals back into politics – making the Religious Right into the cultural force it is today

For Americans who do not follow evangelical Christian media, James Dobson may not have been a household name. Yet the views he promoted shaped US society for more than 50 years.
The Trump administration detained former Columbia University student and pro-Palestinian protest leader Mahmoud Khalil, center, for more than two months and is seeking to revoke his lawful permanent resident status. Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images

A law from the era of Red Scares is supercharging Trump administration’s power over immigrants and noncitizens

A 1952 law that President Harry S. Truman opposed, calling it a step backward, now underpins many actions by the Trump administration against noncitizens in the US.

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