Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

History

Nine Places Where You Can Still See Wheel Tracks from the Oregon Trail

The legendary trail has carved itself into American history—and, in some places, into the earth itself

The Cultural Expressions exhibition celebrates the everyday.

Breaking Ground

How Did Smithsonian Curators Pack 200 Years of African-American Culture in One Exhibition?

The curators of the Cultural Expressions exhibition collected stories and artifacts and brilliantly packed 200 years into one round room

U.S. Ambassador to Russia, George F. Kennan, chats with a newsman after the Russian government told the U.S. State Department that Kennan must be recalled immediately. The Russians charged that the ambassador made completely false statements hostile to the Soviet Union. At the time, Russia demanded his recall (three days ago) Kennan was in Geneva, where he'd been visiting his daughter who is a student at the International School. U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson called the Russian charges, outrageous.

George Kennan’s Love of Russia Inspired His Legendary “Containment” Strategy

It’s impossible to overstate the impact the American diplomat had on the United States’ Cold War policy

Brigadier General Courtney Whitney, government section, Far East Command; General Douglas MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief, United Nations Command, and Major General Edward Almond (at right, pointing), Commanding General, X Corps in Korea, observe the shelling of Incheon from the USS Mount McKinley.

The Redacted Testimony That Fully Explains Why General MacArthur Was Fired

Far beyond being insubordinate, the military leader seemed to not grasp the consequences of his desired strategy

A fireman's hat dating to around 1860 was decorated for the Phoenix Hose Company of Philadelphia by David Bustill Bowser

In the Early 19th Century, Firefighters Fought Fires … and Each Other

Fighting fires in early America was about community, property and rivalry

Outside the Winter Palace stands a column honoring Alexander I, who took kindly to the presence of the Adamses when they lived in St. Petersburg.

The Russian-U.S. Relationship Goes Way Back to John Quincy Adams

Before he became president, Adams was the nascent country’s first ambassador to Russia

Leutwyler spent three weeks in the archives of the Elvis Presley Estate photographing objects, such as this gold-plated microphone (c. 1960).

A New Photo Book Reveals the Objects That Tell the Stories of the Rich and Famous

Photographer Henry Leutwyler usually shoots his camera at celebrities. For this book, he looked at their stuff

On September 26, 1960, presidential candidates Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy stood before cameras for the first-ever televised presidential debate.

Debating on Television: Then and Now

Kennedy and Nixon squared off in the first televised presidential debate decades ago and politics have never been the same

07 Oct 1960, Washington, DC, USA --- Presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon shake hands after their televised debate of October 7, 1960. The two opponents continued their debate after the cameras had stopped.

Eight Lessons for the Presidential Debates

What are the key do’s and don’ts the candidates should remember when campaigning for the White House?

By looking back at historic polls, we can find some surprising relevance to today's politics

Inside the Alluring Power of Public Opinion Polls From Elections Past

A digital-savvy historian discusses his popular @HistOpinion Twitter account

Visitors on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. arrive to see the grand opening ceremonies.

Breaking Ground

Thousands Converge on the National Mall For Music, Family, Remembrance and Celebration

Families from all over the country arrive to celebrate the grand opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Why Do We Still Have Morse Code and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answer

Langston Hughes powerfully speaks for those excluded.

Breaking Ground

What Langston Hughes’ Powerful Poem “I, Too” Tells Us About America’s Past and Present

Smithsonian historian David Ward reflects on the work of Langston Hughes

Conservationists assess the bell, which was not rung throughout much of the 20th century after it fell into disrepair.

Breaking Ground

Historic Bell Helps Ring in New African American History Museum

Why President Obama won’t cut a ribbon when the new museum opens this Saturday

Today Santiago de Cuba, which lies at the foot of the Sierra Maestra, is a bustling cultural capital.

Tony Perrottet's Cuba

How Cuba Remembers Its Revolutionary Past and Present

On the 60th anniversary of Fidel Castro’s secret landing on Cuba’s southern shore, our man in Havana journeys into the island’s rebel heart

After U.S. Border Patrol spots their raft, migrants speed back toward the Mexico side of the Rio Grande.

Myth and Reason on the Mexican Border

The renowned travel writer journeys the length of the U.S.-Mexico border to get a firsthand look at life along the blurry 2,000-mile line

Page 174 of 300