Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Articles

Mary McLeod Bethune, pictured in the 1920s, when her school became a co-ed institution and she became the president of the National Association of Colored Women.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

Mary McLeod Bethune Was at the Vanguard of More Than 50 Years of Black Progress

Winning the vote for women was a mighty struggle. Securing full liberation for women of color was no less daunting

Spanning 92 feet across the Daiya River, the nearly 400-year-old Shinkyo Bridge serves as the sacred gateway to Nikko and the Toshogu Shrine complex.

The Way of the Shogun

Looking for the soul of modern Japan on an ancient road once traveled by poets and samurai

Lucretia Mott’s signature Quaker bonnet—hand-sewn green silk with a stiff cotton brim—from the collection of the National Museum of American History.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

What Made Lucretia Mott One of the Fiercest Opponents of Slavery and Sexism

Her humble Quaker upbringing taught her how to stand up for her beliefs

Pooling samples means one test can screen multiple people.

Covid-19

Pooled Testing Could Be the Fastest and Cheapest Way to Increase Coronavirus Screening

Placing swabs from multiple individuals in a single test gets more people diagnosed using fewer supplies

Before Senator Joe McCarthy became infamous for his grandstanding against alleged Communists, he came to the defense of former German soldiers convicted during the Malmedy war crimes trial.

When Senator Joe McCarthy Defended Nazis

In a nearly forgotten episode, the Wisconsin firebrand sided with the Germany military in a war crimes trial, raising questions about his anti-Semitism

It won’t be surprising if 2020’s “quarantine summer” sees even higher than usual sales for the toy.

The Accidental Invention of the Slip ‘N Slide

A young boy’s summer antics 60 years ago inspired his father to create the timeless backyard water toy

The valiant Inez Milholland, standard-bearer in the nation’s struggle for female enfranchisement, is portrayed here by Isabella Serrano.

100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box

Recreating a Suffragist’s Barnstorming Tour Through the American West

Inez Milholland Boissevain’s campaign to win the vote for women inspires a dramatic homage a century later

None

How Much Pressure Is at Earth’s Center and Other Questions From Our Readers

Watch the latest episode of the popular YouTube series, “The Doctor Is In.”

None

Word Puzzles

Play the Smithsonian Magazine Crossword: For ‘Seasoned’ Solvers

Test your mettle with this puzzle created exclusively for our readers

Bellini at Harry's Bar in Venice

Virtual Travel

Make These Eight Famous Cocktails From Bars Around the World

They might taste sweeter when you know the history behind them

The so-called "Letter From Heaven" was marketed as a message from Jesus himself, conveying instructions and conferring protection on those who sent them to others.

Before Chain Letters Swept the Internet, They Raised Funds for Orphans and Sent Messages From God

Recipe exchanges, poetry chains, photo challenges and other ostensibly comforting prompts are enjoying a resurgence amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Members of the Kiowa Gourd Clan Ceremony stand as the flag of Spencer “Corky” Sahmaunt is raised in Carnegie, Oklahoma, July 4, 2019. Sahmaunt served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and was a member of the Kiowa Black Leggings Warrior Society, as well as the Kiowa Gourd Clan. The Kiowa Flag Song, analogous to the Star Spangled Banner, accompanied the flag-raising.

How Do Native Americans Observe the Fourth of July?

The answer has always been as complicated as America’s history

Turquoise waters of the Murujuga site.

A Submerged 7,000-Year-Old Discovery Shows the Great Potential of Underwater Archaeology

Stone tools scattered on the seafloor mark the oldest underwater site ever found on the continent

A cartoon by illustrator Thomas Nast shows a member of the White League and a member of the Ku Klux Klan joining hands over a terrorized black family.

Created 150 Years Ago, the Justice Department’s First Mission Was to Protect Black Rights

In the wake of the Civil War, the government’s new force sought to enshrine equality under the law

Shannon LaNier, a TV news anchor, has complex feelings about being descended from Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings. “He was a brilliant man who preached equality, but he didn’t practice it. He owned people. And now I’m here because of it.”

These Portraits Revisit the Legacies of Famous Americans

Photographer Drew Gardner painstakingly recreates the images with the notable figures’ descendants

Now behind fences erected by the police, the Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C.'s Lincoln Park has been criticized ever since its dedication.

What Frederick Douglass Had to Say About Monuments

In a newly discovered letter, the famed abolitionist wrote that ‘no one monument could be made to tell the whole truth’

Nina Chanel Abney, Untitled, 2019. Installation view, the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston, 2019.

Eight Online Exhibits to See Right Now on Black History, Racism and Protest

Educating yourself with these shows is one more way to understand the current moment

In a Smithsonian Associates Streaming program on July 8, historian Allen Pietrobon leads a literary journey that explores the nature and impact of American travel stories.

Smithsonian Voices

The Great American Road Trip and 20 Other Smithsonian Associates Events Streaming in July

Learn photography, mixed-media and collage and take a stroll through D.C.’s Jazz clubs and theaters, all online

Painting of Charlotte Cushman, 1843, by Thomas Sully

LGBTQ+ Pride

Charlotte Cushman Broke Barriers on Her Way to Becoming the A-List Actress of the 1800s

In the role of a lifetime, the queer performer was one of the first practitioners of ‘method’ acting

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Covid-19

Seven Places to Get Outside This Summer—and the Environmental Heroes to Thank for Them

From Alaska to Florida, these spots offer fresh air and ample space for social distancing

Page 211 of 1327