Political Leaders

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

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 Rescue of Henry Clay

A long-lost painting of the Senate's Great Compromiser finds a fitting new home in the halls of the U.S. Capitol
November 2009 | By Fergus M. Bordewich

From the Castle - FDR's Stamps

FDR's Stamps
November 2009 | By G. Wayne Clough

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

Ben Franklin: Patriot, Foodie

American patriot Benjamin Franklin was a fan of food and helped France change their opinion on potatoes
July 02, 2009 | By Smithsonian.com

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

Eunice Kennedy Shriver Portrait Unveiled

At the National Portrait Gallery, artist David Lenz pays tribute to a champion for the intellectually disabled
May 11, 2009 | By Barbara Sanford

Ka’iulani: Hawaii’s Island Rose

In a brief life filled with loss, Princess Ka’iulani established her legacy
May 08, 2009 | By Janet Hulstrand

Genghis Khan’s Treasures

Beneath the ruins of Genghis Khan’s capital city in Central Asia, archaeologists discovered artifacts from cultures near and far
March 25, 2009 | By Abigail Tucker

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

Saving the Jews of Nazi France

As Jews in France tried to flee the Nazi occupation, Harry Bingham, an American diplomat, sped them to safety
March 2009 | By Peter Eisner

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

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?
February 2009 | By Marian Smith Holmes

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

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