Commonplace is an online journal and destination for exploring and exchanging ideas about early American history and culture, especially life in America before 1900. A little less formal than a scholarly journal and more scholarly than a popular magazine, it welcomes readers ranging from scholars and museum curators to teachers, hobbyists, and anyone curious about the past. Its articles connect historical research with current discussion, museum collections, film, and everyday life, covering subjects from architecture and literature to politics and social customs.

Content is organized across several areas: Learn explores diverse people and topics in early American history; Objects examines material and visual culture; Teach addresses teaching, literary scholarship, and the historian’s craft; Reviews offers critical evaluations of books and websites; and Creative Writing features poetry, research-based writing, and fiction. Commonplace also points readers to related projects, including Just Teach One and Just Teach One: Early African American Print, and offers email updates and a newsletter. The journal is sponsored by the American Antiquarian Society and the Omohundro Institute