U.S. History

The Heinous 1961 KKK Attack on the Freedom Riders

On May 4, 1961, a bus carrying black and white anti-segregation activists called the Freedom Riders rolled into Alabama and was immediately attacked

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders director Kelli Finglass (left) peruses the donated materials with current DCC captains Jinelle (middle) and KaShara (right). Foregrounded are the original uniform sketches of designer Paula Van Wagoner.

A Classic American Cheerleading Troupe Tumbles to Smithsonian Immortality

"America's Sweethearts" are as dedicated to social service as they are to the Dallas Cowboys

A scene from Hulu's "The Looming Tower"

There’s Great Drama Within the Truths of “The Looming Tower”

How filmmaker Alex Gibney brought a documentarian’s eye to the story of the 9/11 attacks

The March That Led to MLK's Arrest and Famous Letter

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy led a march through the streets of Birmingham, Alabama

Many of the fascinating stories tied to women across history are preserved in the collections of the Smithsonian Institution.

This Museum Tour Is the Perfect Guide to Celebrating Women’s History in Style

From the National Portrait Gallery to the Air and Space Museum, here’s where to find the stories of wondrous women come March

The Senate as a Court of Impeachment for the Trial of Andrew Johnson

The Political Circus and Constitutional Crisis of Andrew Johnson’s Impeachment

When the 17th president was accused of high crimes and misdemeanors in 1868, the wild trial nearly reignited the Civil War

This Major Military Operation Ignited the Vietnam War

By 1965, the U.S. initiated a military deployment, Operation Rolling Thunder, to help South Vietnam defend its independence

Slave sale, Charleston, South Carolina

When Emancipation Finally Came, Slave Markets Took on a Redemptive Purpose

During the Civil War, the jails that held the enslaved imprisoned Confederate soldiers. After, they became rallying points for a newly empowered community

This Mysterious Event Led to the Spanish-American War

In early 1898, the USS Maine sailed into Havana harbor as a show of support for the Cuban revolutionaries

Malcolm X by Copain, c. 1967

Is It Time for a Reassessment of Malcolm X?

A Smithsonian Channel film, "The Lost Tapes," challenges misconceptions about the charismatic leader

Norman Rockwell (above in a 1968 photograph by Garry Camp Burdick), who created more than 300 original covers for the Saturday Evening Post over the course of his long career, was already widely known for his rich visualizations of the American dream when he set about the challenging task of animating FDR's Four Freedoms.

Norman Rockwell's 'Four Freedoms' Brought the Ideals of America to Life

This wartime painting series reminded Americans what they were fighting for

The 1868 treaty is "not just a historical relic," says Navajo Nation president Russell Begaye, "it’s a living document. . . It’s a contractual agreement with the U.S. government and the Navajo nation.”

The Navajo Nation Treaty of 1868 Lives On at the American Indian Museum

Marking a 150-year anniversary and a promise kept to return the people to their ancestral home

Billy Graham, Jr. by James Pease Blair, 1958

Smithsonian’s Curator of Religion on Billy Graham’s Legacy

He was among the most influential religious leaders in U.S. history, says Peter Manseau

When news of Tennessee’s ratification reached Alice Paul on August 18, she sewed the thirty-sixth star onto her ratification banner and unfurled it from the balcony of Woman’s Party headquarters in Washington.

How Tennessee Became the Final Battleground in the Fight for Suffrage

One hundred years later, the campaign for the women’s vote has many potent similarities to the politics of today

How Rosa Parks' Protest Sparked a Momentous Chain of Events

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white male. Her arrest sparked a citywide boycott against Montgomery buses

How One Amateur Historian Brought Us the Stories of African-Americans Who Knew Abraham Lincoln

Once John E. Washington started to dig, he found an incredible wealth of untapped knowledge about the 16th president

Joseph McCarthy's Downfall Was Accusing the Army of Communism

In mid-1954, a riveted nation watched Senator Joseph McCarthy accuse the U.S. Army of being infiltrated by communistd

Parson Weems’ Fable by Grant Wood, depicting Parson Weems and his famous story of George Washington and the cherry tree.

Some Stories About George Washington Are Just Too Good to Be True

But there's a kernel of truth to many of them because Washington was a legend in his own time

Johnson pressed his ear to this humble cup to hear the tap code messages of his friend Bob Shumaker in the next cell over.

The Indomitable Spirit of American POWs Lives On in These Vietnam Prison Keepsakes

For seven years an internee at the infamous "Hanoi Hilton," Congressman Sam Johnson entrusts his story to the Smithsonian

Peter Hurd's famous portrait of Lyndon Baines Johnson

The Presidential Portrait That Was the 'Ugliest Thing' L.B.J. Ever Saw

Lyndon Johnson’s cantankerous nature carried over to even the more engaging parts of being Commander in Chief

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