Law

Stella Stimson, a suffragist and temperance crusader, led an all-women campaign to document fraud at the polls and bring down a corrupt mayor.

When a Trailblazing Suffragist and a Crusading Prosecutor Teamed Up to Expose an Election Conspiracy

An unlikely duo exposed political corruption in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1914—and set a new precedent for fair voting across the country

Start dates at schools across American range from mid-July to early September.

When Do Kids Go Back to School? It Depends on Where They Live

In some districts, students returned to their classrooms weeks before Labor Day

The anonymous sender secured the artifacts in foam cut-outs inside a cardboard flapjack box.

The Mystery of the Bronze Age Ax Heads Mailed Anonymously to an Irish Museum Has Been Solved

A farmer stumbled upon the 4,000-year-old artifacts while working in his field in central Ireland

The Wentworth brothers campaigned ceaselessly for the liberty of free speech in the House of Commons. They were driven by the ongoing succession crisis, which they felt Elizabeth was ignoring, placing England in danger of civil war or foreign invasion.

The Brothers Who Asserted Their Right to Free Speech in Tudor England

Peter and Paul Wentworth called on Elizabeth I to name an heir to the throne, wielding Parliament's free speech privileges to urge the queen to take action

A 1959 photograph of William "W.R." Saxon, who is standing third from left

This Little-Known Civil Rights Activist Refused to Give Up His Bus Seat Four Years Before Rosa Parks Did

William "W.R." Saxon filed a lawsuit against the company that forced him to move to the back of the bus, seeking damages for the discrimination and mental anguish he’d faced

The explosion at Port Chicago on July 17, 1944, killed 320 people and injured 400 more.

Black Sailors Exonerated 80 Years After Deadly World War II Disaster

The Navy secretary officially cleared the 256 Black service members who were punished in connection with the explosion in Port Chicago, California

The sender carefully secured the ax heads inside a cardboard flapjack box.

Someone Anonymously Mailed Two Bronze Age Axes to a Museum in Ireland

Officials are asking the donor to come forward with more information about where the artifacts were discovered

An 18th-century illustration of a jury of matrons

How All-Female 'Juries of Matrons' Shaped Legal History

Courts called on these jurors to determine whether women sentenced to death were pregnant or faking it to avoid execution

A woman named Evelyn Thaw dodges a camera, 1909

How the Rise of the Camera Launched a Fight to Protect Gilded Age Americans' Privacy

Early photographers sold their snapshots to advertisers, who reused the individuals' likenesses without their permission

Arsenic tests for the Lydia Sherman trial of 1872

What a 100-Year-Old Lie Detector and 150-Year-Old Arsenic Tests Tell Us About Forensic Science Today

An exhibition at the National Museum of American History examines how humans influence and judge investigation techniques

This still from The Bikeriders is a recreation of Danny Lyon's photo Crossing the Ohio River.

The Real Story Behind 'The Bikeriders' and the Danny Lyon Photography Book That Inspired It

A new film dramatizes the story of a motorcycle club chronicled by Lyon in the 1960s, offering a tribute to the outlaw spirit

A 2019 study found that teenagers who spend more than three hours per day on social media have double the risk for anxiety and depression symptoms.

Surgeon General Calls for Placing Warning Labels on Social Media Platforms

Vivek H. Murthy views social media as a contributor the mental health crisis in young people, and he suggests tobacco-style warnings on the apps

These rare early copies of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights will go under the hammer on June 26.

You Could Own Rare Copies of the Nation's Founding Documents, Just in Time for the Fourth of July

Sotheby's is auctioning early printings of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as well as a 1790 Rhode Island broadside

A Juneteenth celebration held in Brooklyn, New York, on June 18, 2023

Why Juneteenth, the U.S.'s Second Independence Day, Is a Federal Holiday

The celebration commemorates June 19, 1865, when a military decree informed the people of Texas that all enslaved people were free

Photographer Ansel Adams adjusting his camera

Ansel Adams Estate Condemns Adobe for Selling A.I.-Generated Images Mimicking the Photographer's Style

The black-and-white landscape dupes, which have since been taken down, violated Adobe's generative A.I. policies

Gilbert Stuart painted the famous Lansdowne portrait of George Washington. 

Before Andy Warhol Set His Eyes on Marilyn and Prince, There Was Gilbert Stuart and George Washington

Two court cases over 200 years apart reflect what happens when commercial and artistic interests meet

Calvin Coolidge poses with Native American leaders on the White House lawn in 1925.

A Century Ago, This Law Underscored the Promises and Pitfalls of Native American Citizenship

The 1924 Indian Citizenship Act sought to assimilate Native people into white society. But the legislation, signed by President Calvin Coolidge, fell short

The 1892 People's Grocery murders are “what opened my eyes to what lynching really was,” Ida B. Wells later wrote.

How the Murder of a Black Grocery Store Owner and His Colleagues Galvanized Ida B. Wells' Anti-Lynching Crusade

The saga of People's Grocery stands as a powerful reminder of the centrality of Black radicalism to the food justice movement

On May 21, 1924, Nathan Leopold Jr. (left) and Richard Loeb (right) murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks. Leopold later described the pair's motive as “a sort of pure love of excitement, or the imaginary love of thrills, doing something different.”

Why Leopold and Loeb Committed Cold-Blooded Murder in the 'Crime of the Century'

A century ago, two Chicago teenagers killed an acquaintance named Bobby Franks for the thrill of it. The case captivated the nation and continues to fascinate the public today

The interactive map, called Segregation Explorer, tracks demographic trends across the country.

This Map Lets You See How School Segregation Has Changed in Your Hometown

The new interactive tool accompanies a study of school enrollment data, which shows that segregation has worsened in recent decades

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