This year marks The Nation’s 150th anniversary, and we’ve got big plans to celebrate. We published a quintuple-length special issue, and there will be an Oscar-winning filmmaker’s documentary, daily excerpts from our 150-year-old archive, a college tour, and celebratory events live-streamed from cities coast to coast.
Since its founding in 1865, The Nation has been a home for writers instigating, reporting on, and arguing about struggles for social and economic justice. We have held fast to our “Nation Ideals”— from racial justice to feminism, from a fair economy to civil liberties, from environmental sustainability to peace and disarmament—throughout our 150-year history. During our anniversary year, TheNation.com is highlighting one Nation Ideal every month or two. We’ll celebrate by asking prominent contemporary Nation voices to read and respond to important pieces from our archive. And we’re offering “Radical Histories”—interactive multimedia timelines that present the history of each Ideal, complete with archival photographs and video, as well as links to Nation coverage of important speeches, demonstrations, movement victories, and more.
Join us throughout the year for every Nation Ideal!
Racial Justice & Civil Rights: Radical Histories Part I (1865-1919), Part II (1919-1956), Part III (1957-1968), Part IV (1968-1990), Part V (1991-2015), plus Mychal Denzel Smith on James Baldwin
Gender, Sex, & Feminism: Radical Histories Part I (1851-1960) and Part II (1960-2014), plus Michelle Chen on the 1926 campaign for “Wages for Wives” and Dani McClain on the 1989 special issue on “Scapegoating the Black Family.”
A Sustainable Future: The Radical Histories timeline, plus Zoë Carpenter asks “In 1970, Environmentalism Was Poised to Bring Us All Together. What Happened?”
A Fair Economy for All: The Radical Histories timeline, plus Sabeel Rahman on progressive economics for the new Gilded Age, Bryce Covert on feminism and capitalism, and Frances Fox Piven contributes a new introduction to her 1966 piece “A Strategy to End Poverty.”
Instigating Ideas
Waging Peace
Labor Solidarity
Protecting Our Freedoms
Take a guided tour through 150 years of Nation archives! On January 1, TheNation.com launched a new feature called The Almanac, a 365-day compendium of how America’s oldest weekly magazine has covered important people and events of the last 150 years. Highlighting a significant event from each day in history, The Almanac offers an alternative view of world history as seen through the eyes of Nation writers and editors. You can sign up to receive The Almanac in your inbox here.
Join Our Live Events
We’re planning anniversary events in twelve cities around the country! Find out if we’re coming to your city.
The Nation has been at the forefront of American politics and culture since it was created by anti-slavery abolitionists four months after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. From groundbreaking investigative journalism, to cutting cultural commentary, to unmatched political analysis, there’s a lot to celebrate as we continue to push for the change needed today more than ever. We hope you’ll join us throughout this year of celebration.
The NationTwitterFounded by abolitionists in 1865, The Nation has chronicled the breadth and depth of political and cultural life, from the debut of the telegraph to the rise of Twitter, serving as a critical, independent, and progressive voice in American journalism.