American History
At the Portrait Gallery: “One Life: Amelia Earhart” Opens 75 Years After Her Disappearance
“One Life: Amelia Earhart” takes visitors on a clockwise journey around the one-room exhibit, a thoughtful, deliberate selection of photographs, artwork and memorabilia documents an extraordinary life.
June 29, 2012 |
By Kat J. McAlpine
Presidents vs. Monsters and Legends
This past weekend’s release of the movie “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” raises the question of how other American presidents might have dealt with monsters and conspiracy theories.
June 28, 2012 |
By Kat J. McAlpine
A Little Perspective: Congress First Mandated Health Care in 1798
The Supreme Court handed down its decision on the Affordable Care Act this morning, and the individual mandate -- the requirement that all Americans buy health insurance, which was one of the bill's most at-risk provisions -- survived.
June 28, 2012 |
By Sarah Laskow
Obama Could Win 2012 Because the South Used to Be Underwater
One hundred million years ago, the coastline of North America was drastically different than it is now. First off, the precursors of the Rocky Mountains, stretching from the tip of Alaska to Central America, were their own island, separated from the eastern states by the ocean. Florida was under water, as was much of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. And this ancient coastline, giving birth to the Deep South since the waters receded, could swing this year's election.
June 28, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
America’s Other (Lady) Audubon
Genevieve Jones got an early start as a birder. Born in the 1850s, the 6-year old would accompany her father on egg collecting trips to fill the family’s curiosities shelf. She wanted to create a book illustrating different nests and eggs of bird species, but her family discouraged her since producing such a book would [...]
June 27, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Recessions Lead to Lipstick Lead to Babies, Says Science
t Sarah Hill and her colleagues say there could be a basic explanation for the lipstick effect: Women are trying to enhance their reproductive potential in a "period of scarcity," when baby-making (before perishing from hunger) is a greater priority.
June 27, 2012 |
By Sarah Laskow
Things That Are Surprisingly New: Forks, Lunch, Huge Drinks
Who knew that there existed a time when some of our staples of modern eating habits — the use of forks, the existence of lunch, and, unfortunately, the ubiquitous super-sized drinks found at every fast food chain around the U.S — did not exist. Forks are taken for granted in modern western eating, yet relatively [...]
June 27, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Events June 26-28: Duke Kahanamoku, Bring Back the Funk, and the Folklife Festival
This week, learn about past Olympians, get funky with George Clinton and other music legends, and kick off this summer's Folklife Festival.
June 26, 2012 |
By Aviva Shen
Events June 22-24: Choctaw Days, Hollywood Classics and a Day at the Zoo
This weekend, celebrate the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, watch some Hollywood classic films and take the kids to the zoo.
June 21, 2012 |
By K. Annabelle Smith
Today is Juneteenth, the Most Important Holiday No One Knows About
Today is Juneteenth! That’s the day we solemnly remember one of the greatest horrors in American history, or not, since it’s not an official holiday. Although Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, it didn’t impact slaves in Texas for more than two years, until June 19, 1865. As Kenneth C. Davis wrote last [...]
June 19, 2012 |
By Sarah Laskow
What the Taliban and Jenny McCarthy Have in Common
Jenny McCarthy and Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a Taliban commander in Pakistan, have at least one thing in common: they are both paranoid about vaccination. Bahadur blocked a vaccination campaign, scheduled to start in a few days, that would have reached 161,000 children in North Waziristan. Unlike McCarthy, the Taliban commander is not worried that vaccinations [...]
June 18, 2012 |
By Sarah Laskow
Today We Celebrate the Time Canada Burned Down the White House
Two hundred years ago today, a 36-year old America declared war, for the second time, against Great Britain. The plan was to conquer Canada and wrest North America for the United States once and for all. But, by pretty much all measures, the war was a total mess… It began in confusion, with the United [...]
June 18, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
How Canada Celebrates the War of 1812
The Rodney Dangerfield of wars in the United States, the 19th-century conflict is given great respect by our Northern neighbors
June 18, 2012 |
By John Hanc
The Legend of Dolley Madison’s Red Velvet Dress
Before the burning of the White House, the First Lady saved some red draperies. Could she have made a dress from them?
June 15, 2012 |
By Megan Gambino
Events June 15-17: Phillip Thomas Tucker, The History of American Glass, Father’s Day Performance
Kick off this Father's Day weekend with these events for the whole family.
June 14, 2012 |
By K. Annabelle Smith
How Trees Defined America
Historian Erik Rutkow argues in a new book that forests are key to understanding how our nation developed and who we are today
June 14, 2012 |
By Amy Crawford
Lincoln’s Assassination, From a Doctor’s Perspective
The medical report from Charles Leale, the first doctor to tend to the dying president, was discovered at the National Archives. Smithsonian curator Harry Rubenstein shares his thoughts
June 12, 2012 |
By Megan Gambino
Events June 8-10: World Oceans Day, 100 Years of Girl Scouts, Hat-Making Workshop
This weekend celebrate World Oceans Day, 100 Years of Girl Scouts and hat designer, Lula Mae Reeves
June 07, 2012 |
By K. Annabelle Smith
Madeleine Albright Welcomes New Citizens at the American History Museum
The former Secretary of State speaks about the importance of immigrants, being the highest-ranking woman in the history of the United States government, and her famous diplomatic pins.
June 05, 2012 |
By Aviva Shen
Vote To Put An Icon in the American History Museum
From now through Friday, you have the chance to help decide which icon of American History will be featured in a new portrait by artist Robert Weingarten
May 24, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
