Few periods in history can act as explainers to the formation of our modern world, inextricably linked to the founding of nations, social movements, cultures, and ways of life. In 1492, Christopher Columbus kicked off an age of exploration that did just that. On behalf of Spain, he was in search of a direct trade route to East Asia that could circumvent the stranglehold the Ottomans had on European markets. He eventually crash landed on the island of The Bahamas. Until his death in 1506, Columbus believed he had reached the islands of the East Indies off the coast of Asia. It wasn’t until another Italian explorer, Amerigo Vespucci, made a number of expeditions to these new lands from 1502-1504, and challenged the conventional wisdom. He theorized that Columbus had actually discovered a new continent never before seen on a world map. Convinced of these findings, mapmakers of the time expanded humanity’s understanding of the world around them, naming this land “America”, in recognition of Amerigo’s intellectual pioneering.

Almost 50 years after the break-in, America remains enthralled with the Watergate scandal. We have ingrained its name across our politics (“bridgegate”), our sports (“deflategate”), and our pop culture (“nipplegate”), in hopes of recapturing mere remnants of the drama and intrigue that captivated the nation for more than two years. As a result, it has become so saturated and trivialized over the years, we often fail to reflect on what actually happened on June 17, 1972, at the Watergate complex. (more…)

The United States Constitution is considered a sacred document in American tradition. It is the compass that directs our ideologies, political debates, and government reforms. For many, the Constitution coincides with the birth of the U.S. and perfectly personifies the spirit that led those “heroic patriots” to independence from the British over 300 years ago. However, our proclivity to revere the Constitution in such a way has shielded us from truly understanding the events that led to its creation. (more…)

I was first introduced to the American women’s suffrage movement during my junior year of high school. Towards the end of the school year, our U.S. history class was entering the 20th century in America and in between lessons on the Great War and the Great Depression, we spent a few classes discussing the struggles that “suffragists” endured to give women the right to vote in our country. Included in that lesson was a showing of clips of the movie, Iron Jawed Angels. Personally, I think the film did a pretty horrendous job of authentically portraying the nature of the 5 or so years leading up to the Women’s Suffrage Amendment. I must admit though that one sequence in particular did stick with me as a naive 16 year old: the prison scenes. These scenes depicted the brutal conditions suffragists experienced while being held in prison on trumped up charges. The re-enactments of prisoners being beaten and forced fed were jarring. It was part of the reason my curiosity for this period persisted for years after high school. Thanks to amazing educators, peers, and authors, I’ve learned a lot about a movement that many feel is largely overlooked in our public curriculums.

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The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at the hand of Gavrilo Princip is commonly considered the spark that led to World War I. Within months of the assassination, a ripple effect of war declarations and troop mobilizations consumed Europe. For the next four years the major powers of the world would engage in a conflict that would take the lives of over 10 million people, lead to the collapse of four global empires, and forever change the world map. As Vladimir Dedijer wrote in The Road to Sarajevo: “No other political murder in modern history has had such momentous consequences.” (more…)