The U.S. has a federal system of government where the states and national government exercise separate powers within their own spheres of authority and the lines of power change over time. Explore how the balance of power has shifted over time.
After many of the Civil War battles, photographers took pictures of the mangled bodies waiting to be buried. Does this photograph depict an actual battlefield scene, or did the photographer contrive it?
See how African Americans faced numerous assaults upon their newly won political rights after the Civil War. What are the references employed by the cartoonist Thomas Nast in his cartoon, <em>This is a White Man's Government?</em>
In this cartoon, how does the artist use symbolism and humor to deride Parliament? See how anti-British political cartoons helped shape colonial attitudes towards British actions, like the Stamp Act of 1765.
The World's Columbian Exposition made a statement about the future of city life — a chance for something better than the squalid, polluted, and overcrowded industrial cities of the 19th century. What vision of the future city did the fair present?
This image of a steer skull seems straightforward, but it generated enormous controversy at the time. Can you imagine why? Hint: It was taken to document the hardships Americans suffered during the Depression.
In 1896, the big issue was the monetary standard, while by 1900 imperialism had taken over as the key national issue. What can you discover in the geographical patterns that emerged in the elections of 1896 and 1900?
The Old Rocky Mountain West had been a wild, untamed place. But with the late 20th century technology, population growth,it seemed that a smaller, more accessible "New West" had arisen. Is the New West still a distinct region or just another place in a homogenous American landscape?