The American Menu

1873-1894 This essay was published  on Lapham’s Quarterly website in July 2011. T he first populist tea party movement came in ...

Richmond, Virginia 1883 O ne hundred and eighty-nine Union veterans from Newark, New Jersey boarded a train in October 1883 heading fo...

Winter Haven,  1949-1952 When Cypress Gardens opened near Winter Haven, Florida in 1936, it was billed as the state's first commer...

Glassboro, New Jersey 1967 In early June 1967, the Six-Day War was fought by Israel and the neighboring states of Egypt, Jordan, and S...

Atlantic City,  1964 Some believe the adversarial relationship between t he press and the White House started with Watergate, the po...

Oregon & California,  1976-1978 The anti-nuclear movement has been revived by the recent catastrophe in Japan, “putting government...

New York City,  1886 Dry Monopole, a small, athletic horse named after a brand of Champagne, won the first stakes race run on turf in ...

Augusta, Maine 1858 When the first transatlantic telegraph cable was pulled ashore in 1858, celebrations erupted across the United S...

1885-1897 The gentleman on this advertising card declares, “Yes Miss, when traveling, I always drink Van Houten’s Cocoa. It is so susta...

New York City,  1882 Valentine’s Day was wildly popular in the late nineteenth century, reflecting the values of a society that prize...