Don't look to British history for ways to encourage more pregnancies

+ why many politicians may give women's priorities short shrift US Edition - Today's top story: Taxing bachelors and proposing marriage lotteries – how superpowers addressed declining birthrates in the past [View in browser]( US Edition | 14 August 2021 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair The United States and China are both experiencing declines in their birthrates. In both countries, the trend has led to hand-wringing over slower economic growth and strained budgets. Amy Froide, a historian who has studied single people in 17th- and 18th-century Europe, writes of similar anxieties long ago in France and England. The two superpowers were locked in a long, drawn-out war, but the average marriage age was inching upward and birthrates were declining. With population growth deemed necessary for sustaining a robust economy and military, [each country proposed some bizarre and punitive policies aimed at spurring more births](. This week we also liked articles about the [Appalachian Trail](, how white people used [conservatorships to swindle Native Americans]( and [hip-hop’s origins](. Nick Lehr Arts + Culture Editor In England, children were seen as a way to replenish the military and sustain the economy. Universal Images Group via Getty Images [Taxing bachelors and proposing marriage lotteries – how superpowers addressed declining birthrates in the past]( Amy Froide, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Go back to 17th- and 18th-century England and France and you’ll see the same sort of handwringing over birthrates that we’re seeing today. The Osage Nation were once among the wealthiest people in the world. FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images [The disturbing history of how conservatorships were used to exploit, swindle Native Americans]( Andrea Seielstad, University of Dayton The discovery of oil and gas made members of the Osage Nation among the richest people in the world. But it also made them targets for exploitation. McAfee Knob in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, one of the Appalachian Trail’s most scenic vistas. Ben Townsend/Flickr [A century after the Appalachian Trail was proposed, millions hike it every year seeking ‘the breath of a real life’]( Charles C. Chester, Brandeis University When forester Benton MacKaye proposed building an Appalachian Trail 100 years ago, he was really thinking about preserving a larger region as a haven from industrial life. - [Hip-hop holiday signals a turning point in education for a music form that began at a back-to-school party in the Bronx]( A.D. Carson, University of Virginia With Congress designating Aug. 11, 2021, as Hip-Hop Celebration Day, a scholar and performer of the art form makes the case for hip-hop to become more prominent in American academe. - [The aching red: Firefighters often silently suffer from trauma and job-related stress]( Arash Javanbakht, Wayne State University Firefighters are hailed as heroes and pillars of strength, bravery and courage. But the daily stressors and traumas of their jobs take a heavy emotional toll that largely goes unnoticed by the public. - [5 #MeToo takeaways from Andrew Cuomo and Activision Blizzard sex harassment scandals]( Elizabeth C. Tippett, University of Oregon The scandals show just how much has changed since the movement burst onto the national scene four years ago. - [Women make fewer political donations and risk being ignored by elected officials]( - [The water cycle is intensifying as the climate warms, IPCC report warns – that means more intense storms and flooding]( - [Emotion is a big part of how you assess risk – and why it’s so hard to be objective about pandemic precautions]( - [How stigma, anxiety and other psychological factors can contribute to food insecurity]( - [US history shows spending on infrastructure doesn’t always end well]( - [New technology can create treatment against drug-resistant bacteria in under a week and adapt to antibiotic resistance]( - [What is the Islamic New Year? A scholar of religion explains]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe](. 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451