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National Museum of American History

Letter

Family Letters Offer Glimpse Into Civil War Thanksgiving

This family letter from the Civil War provides a glimpse into what the holiday was like for Union soldiers

Hand-stitched American flag

How This WWII Flag Fulfilled a General's Dying Wish

Private José Quintero struggled to create this flag in secret while held as a prisoner of war during World War II

Three cards where visitors left handwritten messages invoking girl power. One card reads: “you think we're not good enough but we're just to [sic] good for you, girl power.”

What Does 'Girl Power' Really Mean?

We asked our visitors to talk back about what it means to be a girl

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Soldiers in Fur Coats and 'Doggles'

Celebrate National Dog Day with military dog Fausto's visit to the museum

Poppies Washington Monument

Before Memorial Day, Learn the Language of Flowers

It may not seem like it, but floral symbolism and military history are deeply connected

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Where Black and Indigenous History Come Together

Minnesota doesn’t typically come to mind when you think about slavery and the Civil War.

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Collecting In the Wake of January 6

On January 7, Smithsonian curator Frank Blazich spent hours surveying the National Mall collecting abandoned objects. But that was only the first part of the story.

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Maggie of the Boondocks

In the Mekong Delta, there was nobody who could pick up your spirits like USO girl Martha Raye

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Essential or Expendable? How the UFW Fights for Farmworkers

Agricultural labor is often overlooked, but it is critical to understand its history, especially as COVID-19 shines a light on unchecked abuse and exploitation

Cher Ami, April 1918–June 1919 (NMAH)

Solving a 100-Year-Old Mystery About a Pigeon

Animal hero celebrates its Smithsonian centennial

Picket signs carried by protestors at the White House and Independence Hall in Philadelphia, 1960s (Frank Kameny Collection, NMAH)

The Most Radical Thing About Stonewall Wasn't the Uprising

Much of the staying power of Stonewall’s reputation rests upon the Pride marches that began on the first anniversary of the uprising.

In a scene from the HBO series, Tulsa’s masked police force prepares for a raid. Detective Wade Tillman (known as “Looking Glass”) is played by Tim Blake Nelson. Detective Angela Abar (known as “Sister Night”) is played by Regina King (Mark Hill for HBO).

When Watchmen Were Klansmen

While Watchmen is a work of fiction, only a century ago, at the time of the Tulsa Massacre, America faced law enforcement organizations that were aligned with, and even controlled by, the Klan

Alice Tetsuko Kono in her Women's Army Corps uniform, around 1943 (NMAH)

Why Japanese American Alice Tetsuko Kono Joined the WAC During World War II

Japanese-American Alice Tetsuko Kono served a country that considered her an "enemy alien" and enlisted with the Women's Army Corps during WWII

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