A modified early 19th century cartoon of a sailor standing on a dirt road. He has a question mark over his face and his speech bubbles says "Are you looking for me?"

John Pierce: International Man of Mystery

Heather Carlquist Walser set out looking for a sailor but found a symbol.
Cartoon of Madame Restell and Mrs. Bird accompanied by a skeleton.

Female Physicians in Antebellum New York City

Nicholas L. Syrett traces the deep history of distinguishing abortion from other women’s healthcare in order to demonize it and its practitioners.
Newspaper image of Louisa Picquet.

On Dobbs: A Perspective from a Historian of Child Sexual Abuse

Grave Argo argues that we must fight for reproductive justice to bring closure to girls’ suffering in the past.
Madame Restell's Mansion

Whose Nation? Reconsidering Abortion as an American Tradition

Brooke Lansing recasts abortion as a national tradition by reminding us that women are part of the nation.
Cartoon of Madame Rastille's practice showing a bunch of women in veils having a conversation.

Induced Abortion in the Early Republic

In tracing the historical accuracy of Dobbs, Patricia Cline Cohen found a rich history of induced abortion in the early republic.
A grayscale photo of an old portrait of James D'Wolf

What Else I Learned from James D’Wolf’s Letters

Craig Hollander learned to read D’Wolf’s handwriting in a moment of paleographic deus ex machina.
An image of a legal form, partly printed and partly handwritten, with a seal in the lower right corner.

The Possibilities and Perils of Slavery’s Digital Archive

Robert Colby used digital tools to unearth an enslaved family in Richmond, but was forced to confront their limitations.
1857 engraving of White Sulphur springs showing cottages, trees, mountains, and guests riding on horseback.

Wrestling with the Titan; Or, Interpreting That One Really Weird Piece of Evidence

While writing his recent JER piece, Will B. Mackintosh struggled to interpret an anomalous piece of evidence.