History

After a mob attacked a bus with protesters in Alabama in 1961, hundreds more joined the cause.

The Freedom Riders, Then and Now

Fighting racial segregation in the South, these activists were beaten and arrested. Where are they now, nearly fifty years later?

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February Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

The Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.

The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln's Contested Legacy

Great Emancipator or unreconstructed racist? Each generation evokes a different Lincoln. But who was our sixteenth president?

Charles Darwin

Evolution and Equality

What do Charles Darwin, Abraham Lincoln, and the Freedom Riders have in common with each other?

Higham (at Ban Non Wat) says villagers "don't relate to the bones they find."

Bodies of Evidence in Southeast Asia

Excavations at a cemetery in a Thai village reveal a 4,000-year-old indigenous culture

Philip B. Kunhardt III, author of Lincoln's Contested Legacy.

Philip Kunhardt on “Lincoln’s Contested Legacy”

As First Dog, Laddie Boy was worthy of an official portrait.

The White House’s First Celebrity Dog

Bo, the Obama’s First Pooch, has a legacy to live up to in Laddie Boy, the family pet of President Harding

Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin are two of the greatest modern thinkers in history.  What did they think of each other?

Darwin on Lincoln and Vice Versa

Two of the world’s greatest modern thinkers are much celebrated, but what did they know of one another?

Six Indian chiefs passing in review before President Roosevelt during his 1905 Inaugural parade. Left to right: Buckskin Charlie (Ute), American Horse (Oglala Sioux), Quanah Parker (Comanche), Geronimo (Chiricahua Apache) and Hollow Horn Bear (Brule Sioux).

Inauguration History

Indians on the Inaugural March

At the invitation of Theodore Roosevelt, six Indian chiefs marched in his inaugural parade as representatives of their tribes

Born in northeastern Cambodia, Somaly Mam's life story offers bleak insight into the ravages of poverty.

One Woman's Journey to Save Child Slaves

Former child prostitute Somaly Mam has made it her mission to rescue victims of sex slavery throughout the world

Over the past three years, tourists have pulled more than 1,000 precious stones from the ground at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas.

The Curious Case of the Arkansas Diamonds

In a state park full of amateur diamond miners, one prospector dug up a valuable stone worth thousands of dollars—or did he?

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Inauguration History

Behind Inaugural Speeches, Meaningful Words

What words do presidents focus on most in their inaugural addresses? Explore speeches, from Washington to Obama

Scaffolding covers the reconstructed golden dome. With help from the U.N. and the Iraqi prime minister's office, workers are rebuilding the sacred Shiite site.

Samarra Rises

In Iraq, the restoration of the shattered Mosque of the Golden Dome brings together Sunnis and Shiites in an unlikely alliance

President Abraham Lincoln, with officers in 1862, rarely dictated battlefield tactics.

Lincoln as Commander in Chief

A self-taught strategist with no combat experience, Abraham Lincoln saw the path to victory more clearly than his generals

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January Anniversaries

Momentous or Merely Memorable

David Frost (Michael Sheen) interviews Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) in "Frost/Nixon."

Frost, Nixon and Me

Author James Reston Jr. discovers firsthand what is gained and lost when history is turned into entertainment

Inauguration History

From Washington to Biden, Inauguration History

Every four years, D.C. celebrates the presidential inauguration

James McPherson is a professor emeritus of American history at Princeton University and author of Commander in Chief, which appears in the January 2009 issue of Smithsonian magazine.

James M. McPherson on "Lincoln as Commander in Chief"

Inauguration of President Kennedy on the East Portico of the U.S. Capitol.

Inauguration History

Inaugural Firsts

When was the first inaugural parade? Who had the longest inaugural address? A look at presidential inaugurations through time

One of the highlights of Emancipation Hall is a skylight view of the Capitol Dome, from below the East steps of the building.

Inside the Capitol Visitors Center

After years of delays and millions of dollars spent, the brand-new Capitol Visitors Center opens in December

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