The writer's critics call him a cynic. But as a new anthology shows, his thinking has matured in subtle ways over the years.

Fred Kaplan's new book asks why it took Abraham Lincoln so long to embrace emancipation.

The group Take ‘Em Down NOLA has an ambitious goal—to rid the city of all its tributes to slavery’s defenders.

The Founders knew that economic inequality would destroy America's democracy. So why can't the Constitution save us?

The judge's selective approach to constitutional originalism raises serious questions about his respect for the Second Founding after the Civil War.

The Sundance sensation may not be great art, but its snarling urgency makes it a movie for our times.

Two lefties discuss the latest "documentary" by the right wing's favorite conspiracy theorist.

Slave narratives have always been popular—and predictable. Can a new generation rewrite the rules?

A new biography explains the contradictions in a man who defended equality while owning slaves.

After the revolution, former slaves and native populations were forced to segregate from the new Republic.

Preserving them risks legitimizing white supremacy, but removing them risks erasing our mistakes. Here's a third way.

A new book ignores the disturbing history of finance in America.

Before "homophobia" and "Islamophobia," there was “colorphobia” and “Negrophobia.”

One Sri Lankan housemaid has been saved from a stoning death—for now. Others are still dying.