Trusted Writing on History, Travel, and American Culture Since 1949
Morality
Free Passes to a Movie Milestone
One of the benefits of having a grandfather who was a former mayor of Boston, John F. (“Honey Fitz”) Fitzgerald, was that he had free passes to interesting events. Just by paying the tax on a baseball ticket, I could get into a Red Sox or a Braves game. Read more >>
Anthony Comstock spent a lifetime on a crusade to clean the nation’ Augean stables of smut, vice, and nudity. Sometimes it seems as if he pried in vain
Anthony Comslock made it his life’s work to purify this nation, to protect the young from such sights as might lead them into paths that would corrupt their souls and eventually lead them into the yawning pit. Read more >>
In the hands of a rococo Yankee named Clyde Fitch, the American stage came of age with a gasp of scandalized shock
The first-night audience that poured out of Wallack’s Theatre in 1900 must have appreciated the cold February air, for they had just watched a thoroughly shocking play. Read more >>
Three Centuries of Divorce, American Style
Appearances may be deceiving, but marriage in the United States looks as if it is in trouble. Read more >>
THE EARNEST QUAKER JOHN WOOLMAN PREACHED AND ACTUALLY PRACTICED THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
On October 19, 1720, was born one of the few saints and prophets this country has produced. Read more >>