American History
Six Cars Raced to the Finish Line of the U.S.'s First Automobile Race—at Speeds of Seven Miles Per Hour
Held on this day in 1895, the 54-mile round trip took more than ten hours and involved accidents with streetcars, horses and snowbanks
The Ten Best History Books of 2024
Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and examine how the United States ended up where it is today
What Food Was Served at the First Thanksgiving in 1621?
Turkey may have been part of the holiday meal, along with venison, shellfish and corn, but pies and potatoes were decidedly not on the menu
Scientists Are Trying to Make Whiskey Using Rye Seeds That Were Submerged in a Lake Huron Shipwreck for Nearly 150 Years
Divers, distillers and researchers recently recovered grain from the "James R. Bentley," a wooden schooner that sank during a storm in 1878
How British Authorities Finally Caught Up to the Most Notorious Pirate in History
On this day in 1718, the Royal Navy attacked and killed Blackbeard, also known as Edward Teach, off the coast of North Carolina
Archaeologists Piece Together the Origin Story of Florida's Manatees, Revealing They Were Once Tourists
A new study suggests manatees weren’t permanent residents in the Sunshine State until around the 20th century, drawn in by a warming climate and construction of power plants
Can Insects See Color? And More Questions From Our Readers
You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts
American Colonists Minted This Humble Silver Coin in 1652. It Just Sold for $2.52 Million
Settlers in Massachusetts needed cash, but England wouldn't send any. So, they created their own mint in Boston and began making coins
How an Interracial Marriage Sparked One of the Most Scandalous Trials of the Roaring Twenties
Under pressure from his wealthy family, real estate heir Leonard "Kip" Rhinelander claimed that his new wife, Alice Beatrice Jones, had tricked him into believing she was white
Abraham Lincoln's Legendary Gettysburg Address Promised 'Government of the People, by the People, for the People'
The president's humble speech, delivered on this day in 1863, was filled with profound reverence for the Union's ideals—and the men who died fighting for them
New Statue Honoring Civil Rights Activist John Lewis Unveiled in His Home State of Alabama
The life-sized bronze sculpture of the congressman joins statues of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks in the Equal Justice Initiative's Legacy Plaza in Montgomery
A Federal Agent’s Laptop Held the Keys to Seize $3.6 Billion in Stolen Bitcoin. Here’s How It Ended Up at the Smithsonian
Soon to be on display at the National Museum of American History, the laptop is the centerpiece of a criminal case that shows an evolving understanding of cryptocurrency
These Historic Sites in the U.S. Were Once Endangered. Now They're Thriving
Since 1988, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has been naming America’s most endangered historic places, attracting much-needed awareness and funding
Discover the Remarkable Paintings of Three Japanese Americans Whose Life Stories Are Told Through Their Work
A new exhibition spotlights a trio who pushed the boundaries of American art and illustrated the experiences of World War II incarceration
Inside the Brutal Murders That Inspired a Foundational Work in the True Crime Genre
Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" documented the killings of a family of four in rural Kansas on this day in 1959
Historians Say They've Solved the Mystery of a Curious 100-Year-Old Contraption Discovered in Storage
Staffers at the Dorchester County Historical Society in Maryland were baffled by the unusual machine, so they asked the public for help in determining its purpose
Harriet Tubman Just Became a One-Star General, More Than 150 Years After Serving With the Union Army
The celebrated Underground Railroad conductor received posthumous recognition for her service as a spy, scout, nurse and cook during the Civil War
Visions of Nuclear-Powered Cars Captivated Cold War America, but the Technology Never Really Worked
From the Ford Nucleon to the Studebaker-Packard Astral, these vehicles failed to progress past the prototype stage in the 1950s and 1960s
The Surprising Artwork That Inspired Netflix's 'The Piano Lesson,' a New Movie Based on August Wilson's Award-Winning Play
A Romare Bearden print served as a starting point for the American playwright's 1987 drama, which follows a Black family's struggle to decide the fate of an ancestral heirloom
When White Supremacists Staged the Only Successful Coup in U.S. History
The 1898 Wilmington massacre left dozens of Black North Carolinians dead. Conspirators also forced the city's multiracial government to resign at gunpoint
Page 1 of 186