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History

The anti-Chinese cap pistol carries the phrase “The Chinese Must Go” and shows a presumably white man kicking a Chinese man.

Artifacts Show the Sometimes-Violent Nature of American Democracy

From a KKK hood to an anti-Chinese pistol, a new exhibition shows America’s fraught history of deciding who to include in democracy

More than 300,000 Allied troops were rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940, with help from ships like the "Medway Queen."

The True Story of Dunkirk, As Told Through the Heroism of the “Medway Queen”

Retrofitted by the British Navy, the paddleboat saved 7,000 men over many dangerous trips across the Channel

Great riot at the Astor Place opera house, New York on Thursday evening May 10th, 1849

When New York City Rioted Over Hamlet Being Too British

In the deadly Astor Place Riot, how to perform Shakespeare served as a proxy for class warfare

Tabula Peutingeriana.

Where to See Some of the World’s Oldest and Most Interesting Maps

Chart humanity’s course through history with these antique navigational tools

Independence Day Celebration in Centre Square by John Lewis Krimmel (1787–1821)

The Brief Period, 200 Years Ago, When American Politics Was Full of “Good Feelings”

James Monroe’s 1817 goodwill tour kicked off a decade of party-less government – but he couldn’t stop the nation from dividing again

The aftermath of the explosion.

A Newly Discovered Diary Tells the Harrowing Story of the Deadly Halifax Explosion

On the eve of the disaster’s centennial, a sailor’s 1917 journal details a rare eyewitness account of the massive harbor blast

Otto von Bismarck addressing the Reichstag

History of Now

Bismarck Tried to End Socialism’s Grip—By Offering Government Healthcare

The 1883 law was the first of its kind to institute mandatory, government-monitored health insurance

Shearith Torah

Why Religious Freedom and Diversity Flourished in Early America

Jam-packed exhibition features artifacts as diverse as Jefferson’s Bible, a steeple bell cast by Paul Revere and a storied Torah

The memorial (shown here in early June) will be dedicated on the 325th anniversary of the hangings.

The Site of the Salem Witch Trial Hangings Finally Has a Memorial

In a town that has long profited from witchcraft-seekers and Halloween revelers alike, a new memorial strikes a different tone

"Many people, Indian and otherwise, will continue to fight until your team name sits in the rubbish heap where it belongs," says Gover.

Commentary

The Washington Football Team Can Legally Keep Its Racist Name. But It Shouldn’t

The director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, and a citizen of the Pawnee Nation, speaks out against the D.C. sports franchise

Jane Austen's brother, Edward, inherited this grand Palladian-style home from the wealthy relatives who raised him.

Take a Stroll Through Jane Austen’s England With This Interactive Map

A look at the houses and towns that shaped the life and writing of the famed author on the 200th anniversary of her death

Criseyde and Her Maidens Listening to a Reading, by Warwick Goble, from The Complete Poetical Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, 1912.

The Timelessness of Millennial-Bashing

Even in the 14th century, writers blamed younger generations for ruining everything

John Quincy Adams Kept a Diary and Didn’t Skimp on the Details

On the occasion of his 250th birthday, the making of our sixth president in his own words

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