Modern Historic Eras: United States
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Revolutionary Real Estate
Statesmen, soldiers and spies who made America and the way they lived
December 2007 |
By Hugh Howard
Beyond Jamestown
After the colony was founded, 400 years ago this month, Capt. John Smith set out to explore the riches of Chesapeake Bay. With Smith's journals to guide him, a modern-day sailor retraces that historic voyage
May 2007 |
By Terence Smith
Lost City of Powhatan
The Algonquian settlement crucial to the survival of Jamestown 400 years ago has been found. Finally
April 2007 |
By Andrew Lawler
Pilgrims' Progress
We retrace the travels of the ragtag group that founded Plymouth Colony and gave us Thanksgiving
November 2006 |
By Simon Worrall
Spain Makes a Stand
After more than 400 years, a fort built by conquistadors in the Carolinas has finally been found
March 2006 |
By Andrew Lawler
Native Intelligence
The Indians who first feasted with the English colonists were far more sophisticated than you were taught in school. But that wasn't enough to save them
December 2005 |
By Charles C. Mann
Lewis and Clark: The Journey Ends
The triumphant return of the Lewis and Clark expedition
December 2005 |
By Smithsonian magazine
Push to the Pacific
Guided by the Nez Percé, the men and women of the corps reach the Columbia amid threats for their lives
October 2005 |
By Smithsonian magazine
Cold and Hungry
When snow blankets the mountains, the expedition is once again imperiled
September 2005 |
By Smithsonian magazine
A Bittersweet Homecoming
As the corps finally makes contact with the Shoshone Indians, interpreter Sacagawea reunites with her family
August 2005 |
By Smithsonian magazine
The Elusive Shoshone
Needing horses and a route across the Rockies, the corps must find Sacagawea's people or risk the fate of the expedition
July 2005 |
By Smithsonian magazine
A Fork in the River
After deliberating for nine days, the captains choose the tortuous southwest branch of the Missouri toward the Great Falls
June 2005 |
By Smithsonian magazine
Rocky Mountain High
After a canoe capsizes, the first sight of the mountainous "snowey barrier" lifts the corps' spirits
May 2005 |
By Smithsonian magazine
Just What the Doctor Ordered
During Prohibition, an odd alliance of special interests argued beer was vital medicine
April 2005 |
By Beverly Gage
A Formidable Anamal
After a winter of waiting, the corps leaves Fort Mandan and heads warily into bear country
April 2005 |
By Smithsonian magazine
Where East Met (Wild) West
Excavations in a legendary gold rush town uncover the unsung labors of Chinese immigrants on the frontier
March 2005 |
By Raffi Khatchadourian
Savoring Pie Town
Sixty-five years after Russell Lee photographed New Mexico homesteaders coping with the Depression, a Lee admirer visits the town for a fresh slice of life
February 2005 |
By Paul Hendrickson
A Fine Boy
With a little help from a rattlesnake's rattle, Sacagawea gives birth to a baby she names Jean Baptiste
February 2005 |
By Smithsonian magazine
Rethinking Jamestown
America's first permanent colonists have long been considered lazy and incompetent. But new evidence suggests that it was a prolonged drought—not indolence—that almost did them in
January 2005 |
By Jeffery L. Sheler
Dangerous Liaisons
Severe cold and fraternizing with the Mandan keep Meriwether Lewis' doctoring in demand
January 2005 |
By Smithsonian magazine
