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Why Amazon Keeps Losing Regulatory Battles With Unions

Less than one month after President Donald Trump’s second inauguration I ventured the prediction that Trump’s anti-regulation strategy, which was to gum up operations at regulatory agencies in every conceivable way, was self-defeating. (See “ Trump’s Incompetence Is Botching

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The Worst Moments in American History

1619 (PREDATES 1776) Establishment of slavery and Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) Some respondents focused on the original sin of the slave trade, others on the infamous Supreme Court decision that called enslaved people property, but they were all saying the same thing: Slavery,

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The Most Influential Founding Fathers

1 . James Madison The Father of the Constitution. Shows the payoff for taking copious notes. The ugly side: He owned more than 100 enslaved people. 2. Thomas Jefferson And at number two, the author of the American theory of law-based, anti-divine rule. A second hit: the

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The Most Important Works of Art in American History

1. The Birth of a Nation by D.W. Griffith (film, 1915) Racist, “Lost Cause,” Klan-glorifying propaganda, it was also the birth of modern filmmaking. “Thoroughly pernicious, but tremendously important … establishing the importance of film and helping to shape national

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The Most Important Women in American History

1. Eleanor Roosevelt FDR’s “eyes, ears, and legs,” she traveled the country during the Depression, returning with information about how her husband’s New Deal programs were working. Later a delegate to the U.N., she was key to establishing its Universal Declaration of Human

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The Most Important People of Color in American History

1. Frederick Douglass Abolitionist, gifted orator, and adviser to President Lincoln. Fun fact: He was born Frederick Bailey. “Douglass,” which he adopted after he escaped from bondage and settled in Massachusetts, is taken from a character in Sir Walter Scott’s poem “The Lady

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The Most Important Court Cases in American History

1 . Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 This school desegregation decision was so important that Chief Justice Earl Warren made sure the judges were unanimous. And even with that, 20 or so years passed before it was actually enforced. 2. Dred Scott v. Sandford , 1857 A shameful

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The Liberal Mount Rushmore

Sports fans do it obsessively. Who’s on the Yankees Mount Rushmore? The Lakers? Kobe, Jerry West, Magic, and Kareem? What—you’re leaving off Wilt Chamberlain?! The exercise leads to some intense, and fun, arguments. “This idea troubles me … because it seems to me there’s

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The Images That Define American History

1. The moon landing “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” and perhaps the defining image of U.S. history, a potent symbol of American ingenuity, persistence, and power. T-2. Migrant Mother Dorothea Lange’s 1936 classic—depicting a 32-year-old mother of

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The Greatest Moments in American History

1776 Declaration of Independence The one that started it all—the reason we’re celebrating a semiquincentennial. The Founders “embrace[d] a world-quaking creed that values individual freedom and the rights of man over heredity, might, or wealth,” writer and historian John A.

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The 10 Best—and 10 Worst—Presidents in American History

Best Presidents T-1. Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865) The Great Emancipator and the savior of the Union. And he created the national railroad and the land-grant university system, all while fighting the war! T-1. Franklin Roosevelt (1933–1945) His steady confidence , “bold,

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Our Never-Ending American Argument

A quarter of a millennium has passed since the Founders declared our independence and established a nation based on radical ideas—which they deemed “self-evident”—regarding individual equality, consent of the governed, and rule of law tempered by “inalienable rights.” We have

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And the Conservatives Say ...

Because it’s America’s birthday, we decided in full ecumenical spirit to invite a few conservatives to the party. They are, as you’ll see on the facing page, all respected thinkers, scholars, and jurists. And their answers are interesting—they give Dr. King his proper due—and

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Diatoms and the Meaning of Life

In 1703, the world’s most esteemed scientific journal published a surprising letter from an anonymous correspondent. (At the time, until well into the twentieth century, anonymity often meant the scientist writing was a woman, though the word “scientist” itself was more than a

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Empathy and good advice

Focus groups and informal feedback offer a trap: Asking someone in the target audience if they like something might get you useful feedback. But most of the time, the people you’re asking aren’t actually in the group of early adopters that are going to make your rollout work.

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