American Presidents
- Explore more »
Debating on Television: Then and Now
Kennedy and Nixon squared off in the first televised presidential debate 50 years ago and politics have never been the same
September 14, 2010 |
By W. Barksdale Maynard
President Barack Obama: Why I’m Optimistic
Looking ahead to the next 40 years, President Obama writes about our nature as Americans to dream big and solve problems
August 2010 |
By Barack Obama
Lincoln's Missing Bodyguard
What happened to Officer John Parker, the man who chose the wrong night to leave his post at Ford's Theater?
April 08, 2010 |
By Paul Martin
Michelle Obama's Dress Comes to the Smithsonian
The white chiffon dress that Michelle Obama wore to 10 inaugural balls will go on view at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History
March 05, 2010 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
How Dolley Madison Saved the Day
As invading British troops approached in August 1814, the first lady coolly took command of the White House
March 2010 |
By Thomas Fleming
Abraham Lincoln, True Crime Writer
While practicing law in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln defended a man in a highly unusual case and later recounted the mystery as a short story
February 10, 2010 |
By Laura Helmuth
Myths of the American Revolution
A noted historian debunks the conventional wisdom about America's War of Independence
January 2010 |
By John Ferling
The Legacy of America’s Largest Forest Fire
A 1910 wildfire that raged across three Western states helped advance the nation’s conservation efforts
September 17, 2009 |
By Timothy Egan
Dancing Around Abraham Lincoln
Bill T. Jones, one of America’s foremost living choreographers, tackles Lincoln’s complicated legacy in his newest work
September 11, 2009 |
By Rebecca Milzoff
On the Hunt for Jefferson's Lost Books
A Library of Congress curator is on a worldwide mission to find exact copies of the books that belonged to Thomas Jefferson
August 11, 2009 |
By Ashley Luthern
Revisiting the First Ladies’ Homes
The oft-overlooked lives of America's first ladies are on display in house museums across the country
June 30, 2009 |
By Robin T. Reid
What’s the Deal about New Deal Art?
As the first of the New Deal acts that funded public art projects with federal money, the PWAP produced more than 15,000 works of art in just six months
May 19, 2009 |
By David A. Taylor
Lincoln's Pocket Watch Reveals Long-Hidden Message
The Smithsonian opens one of its prized artifacts and a story unfolds
March 11, 2009 |
By Beth Py-Lieberman
Lincoln's Contested Legacy
Great Emancipator or unreconstructed racist? Each generation evokes a different Lincoln. But who was our sixteenth president?
February 2009 |
By Philip B. Kunhardt III
How Lincoln and Darwin Shaped the Modern World
Born on the same day, Lincoln and Darwin would forever influence how people think about the modern world
February 2009 |
By Adam Gopnik
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?
January 22, 2009 |
By Laura Helmuth, Mark Strauss and Terence Monmaney
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
January 22, 2009 |
By Diane Tedeschi
Shepard Fairey: The Artist Behind the Obama Portrait
A portrait created by a graphic designer ended up becoming the icon for the Obama campaign and an international phenomenon
January 14, 2009 |
By Megan Gambino
Indians on the Inaugural March
At the invitation of Theodore Roosevelt, six Indian chiefs marched in his inaugural parade as representatives of their tribes
January 14, 2009 |
By Jesse Rhodes
