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Modern American History

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Forum

A collection of big picture essays (typically four of 2,000-2,500 words apiece) on a key question or problem in modern American history.

Forum: Sports in the 1970s
Why was the 1970s such a transformative decade in sports and towards what end for American politics, civil rights, and pop culture? Six experts reflect...

Forum: Humanitarianism and the Military
What is the relationship between the United States’ military power and its humanitarian activities in the 20th century world? How did the United States’...

Forum: Nation of Immigrants
How and when have immigrants found acceptance in the modern United States? Why and when have they faced opposition?

Forum: Puerto Rico and the United States at Critical Junctures
When and in what ways have their histories intersected most significantly?

Forum: Debt
How have the quest for access to debt and the desire to be free from its burden motivated Americans throughout this country’s history?

Forum: Rights
How have conceptions of rights expanded? Why have existing rights been challenged? What obstacles remain to their realization?

Forum: Discovering the Environment
Why has environmental protection been such a hard sell? When Americans did care, why did they care?

Forum: Fear and Loathing
Under what conditions have scares, moral panics, and the “paranoid style” thrived in the modern United States?

Forum: Modern American History
Big picture reflections on the field’s defining themes, problems, and stakes.