Major occurrences documented by contemporary accounts.
On May 7, 1915, the RMS Lusitania was torpedoed off the Irish coast, killing over 1,200 people. This article reconstructs the disaster as it was experienced and reported at the time, drawing on survivor interviews, official cables, and contemporary newspaper coverage.
Explore how the telegraph-driven, partisan newspapers of the 1860s shaped public understanding of the Civil War, from the first shots at Fort Sumter to the final surrender, and how they both informed and misled a nation hungry for news.
Drawing on letters, newspaper reports, and personal diaries, this article reconstructs how the 1918 influenza pandemic was experienced and understood by those who lived through it, revealing the fear, confusion, and resilience of the era.
In the summer of 1888, 1,400 women and girls at Bryant & May’s match factory in London’s East End walked out, sparking a movement that reshaped women’s labour rights and inspired the formation of the Matchmakers’ Union.
Drawing on contemporary press accounts, eyewitness reports, and the Chicago Daily News photo archives, this article reconstructs how local newspapers covered the 1968 Democratic National Convention—the protests, the police response, and the city’s descent into chaos—and what readers knew at the time.
A primary-source reconstruction of the June 22, 1969 fire that burned Cleveland’s Cuyahoga River, showing how contemporaries reported, exaggerated, and ultimately transformed a local incident into a national symbol of environmental neglect.
Explore the American Civil War through the intimate, real-time accounts of soldiers and civilians who recorded their experiences in letters and diaries. This article draws on the vast collections of primary sources—100,000 pages from 2,000 authors—to reveal the war’s human dimension.
Drawing on period newspaper accounts and scholarship, this article reconstructs how the national and local press covered the Black Panther Party from its 1966 founding in Oakland through the height of its influence, revealing a coverage marked by fascination, fear, and conflict.
Drawing on the pages of the nation’s newspapers, this article reconstructs how Americans experienced Prohibition as it unfolded—from the ratification of the 18th Amendment to the rise of bootlegging and the eventual repeal—through the words of the reporters and editors who lived through it.
Drawing on contemporary newspapers and personal diaries, this article explores how the 1918 influenza pandemic was known, reported, and misunderstood, revealing the fears, remedies, and language of the era.