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History / U.S. History

The Jones-Hall-Sims House, stripped down from 140 years of additions and siding, was acquired in 2009 by the National Museum of African American History and Culture and has been rebuilt as part of an exhibition called “Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation.”

Breaking Ground

For Nearly 150 Years, This One House Told a Novel Story About the African-American Experience

On view in the new museum, the woodframe dwelling evokes the aspirations and limitations of the era following enslavement

The Williams Dreamland Theatre, Tulsa, OK, c. 1921

Your Questions About African-American History, Answered

A special edition of Ask Smithsonian on the occasion of the opening of a new Smithsonian museum

Once 2,000 square miles in Virginia and North Carolina, the swamp today is perhaps one-tenth that size.

Deep in the Swamps, Archaeologists Are Finding How Fugitive Slaves Kept Their Freedom

The Great Dismal Swamp was once a thriving refuge for runaways

The Browns in Topeka, Kansas

The Children of Civil Rights Leaders Are Keeping Their Eyes on the Prize

The next generation is following in the footsteps of its forebears

The Carnegie Quarry fossil excavation at Utah's Dinosaur National Monument has yielded more than 11 different species, including dinosaurs, such as Allosaurus, Diplodocus and Stegosaurus, as well as turtles, crocodiles and lizards.

You Can Thank Scientists for the National Park System

Early conservation research and scientific expeditions laid the groundwork and helped to convince the public national parks were a good idea

An African-American family leaves Florida for the North during the Great Depression.

The Long-Lasting Legacy of the Great Migration

When millions of African-Americans fled the South in search of a better life, they remade the nation in ways that are still being felt

People sit on a roof waiting to be rescued after Hurricane Katrina

Eleven Years After Katrina, What Lessons Can We Learn Before the Next Disaster Strikes?

Author and playwright John Biguenet offers his thoughts on the narrative of destruction

Breaking Ground

The Definitive Story of How the National Museum of African American History and Culture Came to Be

From courting Chuck Berry in Missouri to diving for a lost slave ship off Africa, the director’s tale is a fascinating one

Breaking Ground

The Powerful Objects From the Collections of the Smithsonian’s Newest Museum

These artifacts each tell a part of the African-American story

Redd Velvet (born Crystal Tucker) started her career as a classically trained singer. In her early 40s she moved to Memphis and switched to the blues.

Keeping the Blues Alive

Is blues music a thing of the past? A festival in Memphis featuring musicians of all ages and nationalities shouts an upbeat answer

Jackie Joyner-Kersee by Gregory Heisler, 1988

Commentary

Why We Have to Play Catch-up Collecting the Portraits of Female Athletes

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery is setting its sights on the future

Scenes from the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

The Paris Olympics

The Rise of the Modern Sportswoman

Women have long fought against the assumption that they are weaker than men, and the battle isn’t over yet

"Pick, Pan, Shovel," Ed Ruscha, 1980

The History of the American West Gets a Much-Needed Rewrite

Artists, historians and filmmakers alike have been guilty of creating a mythologized version of the U.S. expansion to the west

From unsavory beginnings to a refreshing treat, pink lemonade has remained a summer staple.

The Unusual Origins of Pink Lemonade

It’s a pretty scary story. It does involve clowns, after all

A few of the Olympians pose for a photo upon their return to the U.S. after the 1936 Games. In the back row, on the far right is Tidye PIckett and third from the left is Louise Stokes.

The Paris Olympics

Sports History Forgot About Tidye Pickett and Louise Stokes, Two Black Olympians Who Never Got Their Shot

Thanks to the one-two punch of racism and sexism, these two women were shut out of the hero’s treatment given to other athletes

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