Operation Paul Bunyan: The Tree That Sparked a Showdown
In 1976, a routine tree-trimming operation in the Korean Demilitarized Zone escalated into a tense military showdown. Di
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Politics
Understand how American politics evolved through real episodes: filibusters, impeachments, redistricting fights, and landmark legislation. This hub currently includes 11 documented stories, including The Louisiana Purchase of 1803: How the United States Doubled Its Land; The Amistad: When Enslaved Africans Seized a Ship and Forced America into Court; The Murder of Emmett Till: How an Open-Casket Funeral Shocked the Nation.
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The Louisiana Purchase of 1803: How the United States Doubled Its Land
Jefferson’s envoys went to Paris to buy New Orleans and came home with a land deal that redrew the map of North America. (Louisiana Purchase 1803)
The Amistad: When Enslaved Africans Seized a Ship and Forced America into Court
A mutiny at sea became a Supreme Court case — with John Quincy Adams arguing for the Africans’ freedom. (Amistad revolt)
The Murder of Emmett Till: How an Open-Casket Funeral Shocked the Nation
A 14-year-old from Chicago was killed in Mississippi — and his mother’s decision to show his face helped fuel the civil rights movement. (Emmett Till)
The Little Rock Nine: When a President Sent the 101st Airborne to Integrate a High School
Nine Black students tried to enter Central High — and faced a mob until federal troops escorted them to class. (Little Rock Nine)
Project MKUltra: The CIA’s Secret Mind-Control Experiments on Americans
LSD, hypnosis, and unwitting subjects — a Cold War program so extreme Congress later held public hearings. (Project MKUltra)
Operation Ajax: How the CIA Helped Overthrow Iran’s Prime Minister in 1953
A covert U.S.–British plot toppled Mohammad Mossadegh — and reshaped Middle East politics for generations. (Operation Ajax)
The Zoot Suit Riots: When Sailors Attacked Mexican American Youths in Wartime Los Angeles
For days in 1943, servicemen hunted teens in flashy suits — while local papers cheered and police looked away. (Zoot Suit Riots)
The Haymarket Affair: A Bomb, a Riot, and the Labor Martyrs Who Shaped May Day
Chicago’s 1886 rally for the eight-hour day ended in police deaths, show trials, and international labor memory.
The Greenbrier Bunker: Congress’s Secret Cold War Hideaway Under a Resort
For decades, a luxury hotel concealed an underground chamber meant for the entire U.S. legislature.
The Wilmington Coup of 1898: America’s Only Violent Overthrow of a City Government
White supremacists expelled elected officials, burned a Black newspaper, and killed dozens in North Carolina.
Bleeding Kansas: When a Senator Was Beaten Nearly to Death on the Senate Floor
In 1856, a pro-slavery congressman walked onto the Senate floor and beat an abolitionist senator unconscious with a metal-tipped cane. The South sent the attacker hundreds of replacement canes.
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