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History

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Inauguration History

This Interactive Maps Out the Lives of Former Presidents

From Washington to Obama, how ex-commanders-in-chief bided their time after leaving office

Yellow Landscape, Isamu Noguchi, 1943, magnesite, wood, string, metal fishing weight

To Bear Witness to Japanese Internment, One Artist Self-Deported Himself to the WWII Camps

The inhumanity brought on by Executive Order 9066 spurred Isamu Noguchi to action

The rainbow at the top right in the window of the Lansdowne Portrait of George Washington (detail) was an 18th century symbol of God's blessings.

Inauguration History

Why America Has a “President” Instead of an “Exalted Highness”

The title just used to mean someone who presided over a meeting

The responsive-design website fits your phone, tablet and computer and can be used to make an itinerary for easy printout and planning.

Take a Smithsonian Tour of All Things Presidential

Here’s how to locate official presidential portraits, works of art, material culture and campaign memorabilia across the Smithsonian

Carl Laemmle in 1918

This Hollywood Titan Foresaw the Horrors of Nazi Germany

Carl Laemmle, the founder of Universal Pictures, wrote hundreds of affidavits to help refugees escape Europe

Anti-war demonstrators raise their hands toward the White House as they protest the shootings at Kent State University and the U.S. incursion into Cambodia, on May 9, 1970.

History of Now

Eleven Times When Americans Have Marched in Protest on Washington

Revisiting some of the country’s most memorable uses of the right to assemble

Joint press conference

In the Darkest Days of World War II, Winston Churchill’s Visit to the White House Brought Hope to Washington

Never has overstaying one’s welcome been so important

Bernardo de Galvez Statue, Central Business District, New Orleans, Louisiana

The Little-Remembered Ally Who Helped America Win the Revolution

Bernardo de Galvez’s involvement may not have been altruistic, but his contributions made a difference nonetheless

Fragment from a flag that read "'Kaiser' Wilson Banner East Gate White House Monday, August 13, 1917." The original banner read "Kaiser Wilson Have You Forgotten Your Sympathy With the Poor Germans Because They Were Not Self-Governed? 20,000,000 American Women Are Not Self-Governed. Take the Beam Out of Your Own Eye"

Commentary

‘Mr. President, How Long Must Women Wait For Liberty?’

In January 1917, women took turns picketing the White House with a voice empowered by American democracy

George Washington's handwritten inaugural speech, currently on display at the National Archives.

Inauguration History

The Speech and Bible From George Washington’s First Inauguration Made History Many Times Over

The first president created the tradition of giving an inaugural address and swearing the oath of office on a Bible

Ned Buntline, Bufalo Bill Cody, Giuseppina Morlacchi, Texas Jack Omohundro (1846-1880)

Murder, Marriage and the Pony Express: Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Buffalo Bill

His adventures were sensationalized in print and the Wild West show, but reality was more complicated—and compelling

British double-agent Guy Burgess was one member of the Cambridge Five ring of spies.

The Student and the Spy: How One Man’s Life Was Changed by the Cambridge Five

An unlikely friendship with Guy Burgess, the infamous British double-agent, brought unexpected joy to Stanley Weiss

The impacts from the Nimbus satellites (Nimbus-1 pictured here) made a lasting mark on meteorology and climate science that can still be felt today.

The Day the Nimbus Weather Satellite Exploded

The writer’s grandfather recalls a seminal moment in the Space Race

Harry Houdini by unknown artist, 1920

The Innovative Spirit fy17

Escape Artist Harry Houdini Was an Ingenious Inventor, He Just Didn’t Want Anybody to Know

More than just a magician, Houdini was also an actor, aviator, amateur historian and businessman

"No one on earth can be totally secure, because nothing can completely protect you from life’s tragedies and the relentless passage of time.”

Michael Jackson, Donald Trump and Other Famous Americans Who Escaped Brushes With Death

The roads not taken for these 13 lucky souls saved their lives

Kiya Anderson has a father in prison and a mother who is unable to care for her. She has lived in numerous foster homes.

American Incarceration

The Everyday Struggle of a Child Whose Parents Are Incarcerated

With more American men and women in prison than ever before in our history, millions of children are struggling with the effects of a fractured family life

From left to right: Ricky Jackson is finally a free man; Japanese Americans head into internment in 1942; a Maryland boy (in red) has an inmate mom.

American Incarceration

The Far-Reaching Effects of American Incarceration

Three photo essays explore the history and modern-day consequences of the world’s highest incarceration rate

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