History

Jacob Lawrence, detail from Struggle Series—No. 10: Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1954.

The Art of the American Revolution Across the Generations The Art of the American Revolution Across the Generations

The United States’ founding moment from Washington Crossing the Delaware to the paintings of Jacob Lawrence, Kara Walker, and Kent Monkman.

Jun 11, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Rachel Hunter Himes

“The New World,” c. 1546.

The Entwined History of Capitalism and Race in the Americas and Beyond The Entwined History of Capitalism and Race in the Americas and Beyond

Better to start the history of the United States in 1492 than in 1776.

Jun 10, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Bill Fletcher Jr.

A depiction of the tarring and feathering of a British Customs commissioner in Boston.

The Contradictions of 1776 The Contradictions of 1776

From the outset the United States was founded to protect both freedom and slavery.

Jun 10, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Gerald Horne

Théodore Gudin, “Naval Battle Off the Chesapeake,” September 3, 1781.

The Revolution Heard Around the World The Revolution Heard Around the World

The global politics of 1776.

Jun 9, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Sophia Rosenfeld

Commemorative print celebrating the passage of the 15th Amendment.

The Centuries-Long Struggle to Make the Constitution Equal for All The Centuries-Long Struggle to Make the Constitution Equal for All

The effort to transform the United States’ founding document into a vehicle for egalitarian politics.

Jun 9, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Steven Hahn

Bust of Thomas Paine atop his monument at New Rochelle, New York.

Tom Paine’s Fight Tom Paine’s Fight

The pamphleteer’s insistence that America live up to its revolutionary vows still rings true 250 years later.

Jun 9, 2026 / John Nichols

A map showing the US empire in 1898

On “The Nation” and Empire On “The Nation” and Empire

Our magazine has refused to accept what contributor Gore Vidal once described as the “cozy unremitting war” that puts this country in a state of conflict, year after year.

Jun 9, 2026 / Katrina vanden Heuvel for The Nation

Children looking at a mural of Antonio Gramsci, 1975.

The Ghosts of Antonio Gramsci The Ghosts of Antonio Gramsci

Andy Merrifield’s Roses for Gramsci, a highly personal history of the Italian thinker and his work, examines his influence across generations.

Jun 3, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Aditya Bahl

Tiki-torch wielding protesters on the campus of the University of Virginia on the night before the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, 2017.

The Troubled History of Charlottesville The Troubled History of Charlottesville

Deborah Baker’s Charlottesville: An American Story is history of the city and how its checkered past ultimately led to the Unite the Right rally.

Jun 2, 2026 / Books & the Arts / José Sanchez

Do We Live in the Age of “Hyperpolitics”?

Do We Live in the Age of “Hyperpolitics”? Do We Live in the Age of “Hyperpolitics”?

A conversation with the historian Anton Jäger about political polarization, the stagnation of the West, and the collapse of mass politics in the 20th century.

Jun 1, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins

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