Topic: U.S. History

Top galleries, list articles, quizzes

Spurs and Thunder star in NBA’s Western Conference Finals: 10 extra dimensions

The clash of the Spurs and Thunder in the NBA’s Western Conference finals may fly a bit under the national radar when it opens Sunday. Here are 10 factors that make this showdown intriguing.
From Willie Horton to windsurfing: Five top political attack ads

Political attacks ads: love 'em or hate 'em, but they’re here to stay, and this election year stands to be a watershed moment in their use. Here's a look at what are considered to be some of the most memorable and effective attack ads utilized over the years.
Bestselling books the week of 5/17/12, according to IndieBound*

What's selling best in independent bookstores across America.
Harry Truman: 7 quotes on his birthday

May 8, 2012, marks Harry S. Truman's 128th birthday. His folksy sense of humor and political grit are exemplified by a selection of aphorisms in 'Geary's Guide to the World's Great Aphorists' by James Geary.
10 best self-help books of all time

From Benjamin Franklin to Norman Vincent Pearle to Stephen Covey, here are 10 of the best self-help books ever written.

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Robert Reich
Obama is no 'food stamp president'

Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich agree that President Obama is turning America into “European-style welfare culture,” pointing to a rise in the number of citizens relying on federal aid. Here's why they have it backwards.
9 best books featuring notorious figures

Thomas Craughwell lists these books as the best myth-busting histories centered on notorious figures.
A look back: In spite of super PACs, this isn't the most negative campaign in history

Negative campaigning is actually an American tradition. In fact, attack campaigning has been around since the beginning without derailing the electoral process. Mudslinging can hardly be called a positive campaign feature, but it is a sign of democracy in action.
5 ways Americans and Iranians are surprisingly similar

Despite escalating US-Iran tensions, remarkable similarities between their peoples have prompted some to suggest that the US and Iran could one day be powerful ‘natural’ allies.
A conservative worries: Will Gingrich return America to the days of King George?

As a conservative constitutional scholar, I am deeply troubled by Newt Gingrich's vision for executive power over the courts – even if it is to strike back at liberal judges. Such a seizure of power threatens the rule of law upon which free and equal citizenship is founded.
10 romantic movies for Valentine's Day

Check out these 10 movies for the holiday
The most important election of a lifetime? So say Gingrich et al.

As Gingrich faces Romney in Florida, he calls 2012 the 'most important election of our lifetime.' Sometimes he compares its significance to the pre-Civil War era. GOP rivals like Santorum and key Democrats like Pelosi are also gasping about the stakes. Time to catch our breath.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: 8 great quotes on his birthday

January 30th marks the 130th birthday of the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Here are eight great quotes from the eloquent president.
10 snapshots of New York from celebrated diaries

From 'New York Diaries' edited by Teresa Carpenter, 10 stories of New York City through the centuries.
The Circle Bastiat
Was Lincoln's quote about government hypocritical?

Toward the end of his State of the Union speech, President Obama quoted Abraham Lincoln: "government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves, and no more.” But Lincoln was among history's most aggressive expanders of the reach of the federal government.
Beyond Boston: 9 tea parties you probably haven't heard about

Boston's may be the most famous, but there were nine other tea party protests around the country. Here are their stories.
Tim Thomas: Six other athletes who snubbed the White House

Not that many Americans have the opportunity to be on the White House guest list. Here's a list of athletes who have snubbed US presidents.
State of the Union address: best and worst in history

The State of the Union address is a big moment for a president, but not usually a memorable one for the public. Americans are more likely to remember Gabrielle Giffords at tonight's speech than anything Obama says. Still, the speech has had its high points, and low ones.
Stephen King's 10 favorite books

Stephen King, author of 'Carrie' and 'The Shining,' reveals what he likes to read.
Chapter & Verse
South Carolina: Why is the Palmetto State so different?

Historian W. Scott Poole discusses South Carolina – its unique history, interesting governors, and suspicion of the outside world.
10 moments from the life of Queen Elizabeth II

From the new book 'Elizabeth the Queen,' 10 new insights into the modern monarch.
Chapter & Verse
Bill O'Reilly's 'Killing Lincoln' will be made into a documentary by Ridley and Tony Scott

Ridley and Tony Scott will be filming a National Georgraphic documentary based on Bill O'Reilly's book 'Killing Lincoln.'
Martin Luther King Jr. Day: A quiz on the struggle for a national holiday

Take this quiz to test your knowledge of this day of remembrance, and the man whose life and works it honors.
4 great political books you've never heard of

Historians weigh in on the best books about elections that make 2012 look tame.
A Slave in the White House

Historian Elizabeth Dowling Taylor tells the unsettling story of a Founding Father and his slave.
20 non-fiction books to watch for in 2012

Here’s a sampling of some of the more promising early 2012 nonfiction titles.
'Most admired' list: Gingrich up, Palin down; Obama, Clinton still No. 1

For two years running, President Obama is the man Americans most admire, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is again the most-admired woman, a new Gallup survey shows. But the public’s views of other politicians shifted noticeably in 2011.
13 best 2011 author interviews

Authors covered topics from sandwiches to Shakespeare in 2011 Monitor Books interviews.
Gingrich rise and fall: A question of decency?

Newt Gingrich’s earlier spike in the polls, and Republican voters' enduring wariness of ‘Mr. Clean’ Romney, raise the question: How is it that voters loathe Obama, with a personal history of high moral standing and liberal policies, while supporting a conservative with a history of immorality?
5 standards for presidential leadership

When it comes to presidential leadership, how should voters in 2012 judge the Republican candidates and President Obama? Prof. Allen C. Guelzo, an authority on Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg College, suggests five leadership standards, personified in such figures as Lincoln and Churchill.