Russian expansion into Alaska was driven by the lucrative sea-otter trade and the Russian-American Company’s commercial ambitions. In southeastern Alaska, however, their expansion encountered determined Tlingit resistance. The Tlingit were not passive victims of a technologically superior empire. They exploited familiar terrain, fortified key positions, attacked isolated settlements, disrupted trade, and withdrew strategically when […]

Waiting for the roar of bombs.

President Donald Trump, it seems, has some sort of odd obsession with obtaining Greenland. On several occasions in the 2020s he has offered to buy the ice-covered island from Denmark, and also threatened to take it. But American interest in Greenland dates all the way back to the beginnings of the Cold War. . Camp … Continue reading America’s Cold War in Greenland →

The 1970s are often remembered for their distinctive fashion, colorful cars, changing city streets, and evolving American culture. But photographs from the decade reveal another side of the country, where industrial smokestacks towered over residential neighborhoods, chemical plants lined waterways, and pollution was part of everyday life for many communities. These scenes existed alongside ordinary […]