USA

The 19th-century craze for spiritualism ‘resurrected’ the dead through manipulated photography, a practice that boomed with the trauma caused by war – though it was not without its sceptics.

At its founding, Pennsylvania had one of the most tolerant criminal law systems in the world, but by the middle of the 18th century its capital Philadelphia was a ‘hell of the officials and preachers’.

Four historians consider the consequences of the ‘Day of Infamy’ on 7 December 1941, and whether it was the ultimate reason for Germany, Italy and Japan’s defeat.

The actions of lynch mobs during the late 19th century damaged the United States’ relationship with Britain and threatened its self-appointed role as the world’s moral guardian.

Recent restrictions on the right to abortion in the United States imitate policies enacted 150 years ago.

America’s longstanding passion for the great outdoors.

The 1930s spy ring who informed on technological advances in the defence industries.

On the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, four experts consider the event’s global legacy.

A new term inadvertently changed the way people thought about runaway slaves.