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History / U.S. History

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

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

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

Resurrection City Mural (detail), 1968

Breaking Ground

A Mural on View in the African American History Museum Recalls the Rise of Resurrection City

The 1968 Hunger Wall is a stark reminder of the days when the country’s impoverished built a shantytown on the National Mall

How the Heated, Divisive Election of 1800 Was the First Real Test of American Democracy

A banner from the Smithsonian collections lays out the stakes of Jefferson vs. Adams

A view of Mount Rushmore under construction, c.1938-1939

The Sordid History of Mount Rushmore

The sculptor behind the American landmark had some unseemly ties to white supremacy groups

It is thought that Nat Turner was holding this Bible when he was captured two months after the rebellion he led against slaveholders in Southampton County, Virginia.

Breaking Ground

Nat Turner’s Bible Gave the Enslaved Rebel the Resolve to Rise Up

A Bible belonging to the enslaved Turner spoke of possibility says curator Rex Ellis of the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Envelopes and other artifacts from the 2001 anthrax attacks are on view in “Behind the Badge: The U.S. Postal Inspection Service” at the National Postal Museum.

The Anthrax Letters That Terrorized a Nation Are Now Decontaminated and on Public View

Carriers of the deadly anthrax bacteria, these letters—on loan from the FBI—can be seen at the National Postal Museum

The American Velocipede

American Drivers Have Bicyclists to Thank for a Smooth Ride to Work

Urban elites with a fancy hobby teamed up with rural farmers in a movement that transformed the nation

Fuselage from Flight 93, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, September 11, 2001

Remembering 9/11, From a Scrawled Note to a Scrap of Fuselage

How objects both ordinary and extraordinary help us reflect on the devastation

Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt and Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia in the latter's office in Washington on the occasion of Mrs. Roosevelt's being sworn in as Mayor La Guardia's assistant in the Office of Civilian Defense.

History of Now

The New Deal Origins of Homeland Security

During FDR’s administration, the First Lady and the Mayor of New York clashed over guns, butter and American liberalism

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