James C. Cobb

A protest message directed at Amazon is spray painted on a wall near a construction site Jan. 9, 2019, in the Long Island City neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.

State Incentives for Attracting Business Were Controversial Long Before Amazon. Here's What That History Can Teach Us

The first institutionalized and continuous state system for providing such ...

The first institutionalized and continuous state system for providing such incentives grew out of a scheme to bring shirt-maker Reliance Manufacturing to a logged-out lumber town in the depths of the Great Depression

Color, political and physical map of the Southern and South-Western States, with insets illustrating Texas and the Eastern Virginias, 1857.

What the State of the American South a Half-Century Ago Revealed About the Whole Country's Future

A focused look at the South in 1964 "offered a glimpse into a future marked...

A focused look at the South in 1964 "offered a glimpse into a future marked by dramatic and unforeseen change"

April 26, 1865: The surrender of Confederate General Joseph Eggleston Johnston (1807 -1891) near Greenboro, North Carolina. Printed by Currier & Ives.

The Other Side of Confederate Memorial Day

The idea of Confederate Memorial Day is on its way out, but the events it c...

The idea of Confederate Memorial Day is on its way out, but the events it commemorates are deserving of recognition in their own right

A photo of Emmett Till is included on the plaque that marks his gravesite at Burr Oak Cemetery in Aslip, Ill. Seen here in 2005.

What We're Missing About Emmett Till's Impact on the World

It took decades to appreciate the full effect of his murder

Campus buildings at Washington and Lee University in Virginia.

Cleansing American Culture of Ties to Slavery Will Be Harder Than You Think

Few historic American institutions are free of the touch of slavery's histo...

Few historic American institutions are free of the touch of slavery's history

The Lee Monument, a Doric column in remembrance of Confederate General, Robert E. Lee, seen in New Orleans, circa 1900

Confronting the Future of New Orleans' Confederate Past

The urge to hide the most painful reminders of the past is understandable, ...

The urge to hide the most painful reminders of the past is understandable, but what are the effects of doing so?

A newspaper advertisement offering reward for the return of an escaped slave to his oppressors, Princess Anne, Md., April 1, 1861. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 obliged citizens and lawmen of free zones to return escaped slaves to those whom they fled.

One of American History's Worst Laws Was Passed 165 Years Ago

The Fugitive Slave Act was passed on Sept. 18, 1850

James C. Cobb

State Incentives for Attracting Business Were Controversial Long Before Amazon. Here's What That History Can Teach Us

What the State of the American South a Half-Century Ago Revealed About the Whole Country's Future

The Other Side of Confederate Memorial Day

What We're Missing About Emmett Till's Impact on the World

Cleansing American Culture of Ties to Slavery Will Be Harder Than You Think

Confronting the Future of New Orleans' Confederate Past

One of American History's Worst Laws Was Passed 165 Years Ago

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