Scotland: the Road to Independence
In August 2009 the SNP announced a Referendum Bill to hold a referendum on the issues of Scottish independence in November 2010.
Anglo-American Civilisation
Articles on Anglo-American civilisation, from the Reformation in the British Isles to modern Britain, the United States, politics, society and culture.
The American Civil War: 1861-1865
The story of the American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 9, 1865) between the Northern (United) and Southern states (Confederate).
Organized Crime: Repression and Censorship
John Edgar Hoover launched a war on Organized Crime: creation of the Bureau of Investigation, the Prohibition Bureau, and the Bureau of Identification
Evolution of Organized Crime
Trace the evolution of organized crime after Prohibition, from gangster decline to legal businesses, Las Vegas, Hollywood, and federal investigations.
Organized Crime : Expression and Repression
Explore links between organized crime and cinema, from ethnic mobility and Chicago beer wars to gangster films, censorship, violence, and realism.
Organized Crime and the Prohibition
Organized crime was considered a kind of un-American activity. Since more gangsters were ethnics calling them “un-American” was a way of…
Organized Crime in America
Study organized crime in America from 1929 to 1951: Prohibition, gangster films, censorship, Mafia myths, violence, bribery, and immigration.
O’Sullivan’s Manifest Destiny
Explore O’Sullivan’s Manifest Destiny, from Puritan exceptionalism and expansionist ideology to Polk, Texas, Mexico, and America’s westward ambition.
Life in the Plantations
Explore life in Southern plantations, from slave labour and welfare to patrols, resistance, literacy bans, Fugitive Slave Law, and Black Codes.
The social context of America in the early 19th century
In the late 18th century, the American constitution accepted the existence of slavery. It was considered as an institution since the 18th century.
After the American Civil War: The Reconstruction
With the Confederacy’s collapse, the Government confronted difficult issues: the readmission of seceding States and the citizenship of former slaves.
Antebellum South
The South had developed a unique society and a sense of Southern nationalism. The secession was an attempt to create an independent nation.
USA: North and South
Explore tensions between North and South, from cotton, slavery and states’ rights to the Missouri Compromise, Fugitive Slave Act and Dred Scott case.
America: West to the Pacific
American expansion was always as sort of global attitude involving territorial growth and commercial expansion, exactly like a body that grows.
Years of Growth
In 1783, more and more settlers had set in the new territories between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River.
America: The New Nation
Explore the birth of the new American nation, from independence and republican ideals to the Constitution, federalism, and early political tensions.
Introduction to Puritanism and Expansionism
Explore Puritanism and expansionism in early America, from Reformation roots and the Mayflower Compact to theocracy, tolerance, and wilderness.
USA: Birth of a Nation
After France’s defeat in Canada, Britain remained the only power left in Eastern North America. The colonies were now free to spread over the continent.
The American colonies : Religion and Politics
The distinctive characteristic ideals and contradictions of colonial America shaped the civilization of the United States until very recently.
The Glorious Revolution of 1688
Explore the Glorious Revolution of 1688, from James II and William of Orange to parliamentary sovereignty, Protestant succession, and the Bill of Rights.
English Expansionism
Explore English expansionism through Tudor conquest, colonial ambition, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, imperial ideology, and Britain’s emerging national power.
The Reformation in the British Isles
Explore the Reformation in the British Isles: royal power, religious conflict, Protestant reform, Catholic resistance, and lasting political change.
Inequalities in Britain today
In its 1997 General Election Manifesto, New Labour struck a chord among electors after 18 years of Conservative Government.
The Thatcher Years : the individual and society
Explore the Margaret Thatcher years through individualism, society, market reform, class conflict, state power, and Britain’s political transformation.
Inequality and Gender
Explore gender inequality in Britain, from Victorian separate spheres and legal reforms to suffrage, employment, feminism, and equal pay debates.
Inequality and Race
Explore race inequality in Britain, from Notting Hill and immigration laws to Race Relations Acts, Enoch Powell, Brixton, and the Scarman Report.
The Affluent Society : poverty rediscovered?
Post-war Britain is characterised by Butskellism, a hybrid word formed from the Conservative (Butler) and Labour (Gaitskell) Chancellors of the Exchequer.
The Welfare State: an end to poverty and inequality ?
Wartime hardships, national solidarity and the acceptance of an increased role for the State led to the need for durable change in social and health policies.
The Beveridge Report: a Revolution?
It had been thought William Beveridge would just tidy up the existing schemes but in fact, he came up with a brand-new scheme.
More electoral inequalities : the Road to Female Suffrage
Explore the road to female suffrage in Britain, from Victorian gender roles and legal reforms to suffragists, the WSPU, and voting rights.
Ante Bellum, Inter Bella : Legislation and the Depression
Explore interwar Britain through Liberal reforms, unemployment, the Depression, poverty surveys, regional divides, and the harsh means test.
Electoral inequalities in Victorian England: the Road to Male Suffrage
Eventually, after a long struggle (The Peterloo Massacre in 1819), the First Reform Act was passed in 1832, which resulted in an extension of male suffrage.
Victorian philanthropy in 19th century England
Charity was widespread during the 19th century though the actual amount distributed is difficult to estimate.
The Poor Law Amendment Act (1834)
The aim was to dissuade all but the very hopeless from seeking assistance since poverty was the fault of the individual and should be punished.
Scotland: the State, the Nation, Home Rule, and Devolution
Define Scotland’s state, nation, Home Rule and devolution, from imagined communities to the Scotland Act and electoral systems.
The Scottish Parliament
Explore the Scottish Parliament, from Labour’s devolution reforms and the Scotland Act to tuition fees, public opinion, and independence debates.
The rise of the Scottish National Party (SNP)
Trace the rise of the Scottish National Party, from early nationalism and Home Rule movements to political breakthroughs and devolution debates.
Scottish Home Rule
Explore Scottish Home Rule from Victorian autonomy debates to Irish Home Rule, nationalist organisations, and the creation of the SNP in 1934.
The Act of Union of 1707
Explore the Act of Union of 1707, from Darien and succession crises to the Treaty of Union, Scotland’s institutions, and Great Britain’s creation.