Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

History / U.S. History

An undated wash drawing depicts the burning of Washington, DC, in August of 1814.

Your Guide to the Three Weeks of 1814 That We Today Call the War of 1812

From the burning of Washington to the siege of Baltimore, what happened in those late summer days?

The creators of "Will & Grace" donated the pilot script and other items from the show to the National Museum of American History.

A Proud Day at American History Museum as LGBT Artifacts Enter the Collections

The creators of “Will & Grace” and others donated objects related to gay history

Lee surrendering to Grant at Appomattox

Which General Was Better? Ulysses S. Grant or Robert E. Lee?

The historic rivalry between the South’s polished general and the North’s rough and rugged soldier is the subject of a new show at the Portrait Gallery

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Why Do Secretaries of State Make Such Terrible Presidential Candidates?

Before the Civil War, the cabinet position was considered a stepping stone to the Chief Executive; now, not so much

A Royal Naval Air Service Bristol Scout D during a reconnaissance mission over the Western Front, February 1916. One of the first British single-seat fighter aircraft, the Bristol D was developed primarily for scouting. It was fast and maneuverable. The aircraft above was based on the HMS Vindex, a Royal Navy seaplane carrier operating in the North Sea.

World War I: 100 Years Later

World War I Special Report

Remembering the Great War and how we’re still living through its legacy today

In Hot Springs, North Carolina, residents of an alien internment camp active from 1917 to 1918 built an authentic German village. They used tobacco tins to construct the church at the end of the lane.

World War I: 100 Years Later

The U.S. Confiscated Half a Billion Dollars in Private Property During WWI

America’s home front was the site of interment, deportation, and vast property seizure

Who Has the Best Facial Hair in Baseball History?

As long as there have been home runs and strike outs, ballplayers, even some Yankees, have sported mustaches, beards and side burns

Marcel Breuer's proposed Roosevelt Memorial

Washington, D.C.

The Failed Attempt to Design a Memorial for Franklin Roosevelt

The debacle of the Eisenhower memorial is only the most recent entry in a grand D.C. tradition of fraught monuments

The descendants of abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison donated ten items to the National Museum of African American History and Culture this month.

Breaking Ground

The Descendants of Abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison Donate Family Heirlooms

Objects belonging to the anti-slavery advocate spent a century collecting dust in an attic. Now they’re on their way to the African-American history museum

2001 Anthrax Case

Washington, D.C.

Anthrax Letters, Now on View, Represent the Serious Threats Faced by the Post Office

The National Postal Museum’s “Behind the Badge” exhibit explores the history and legacy of the United States Postal Inspection Service

Night attack at Fort Stevens on July 11, 1864

Washington, D.C.

When Washington, D.C. Came Close to Being Conquered by the Confederacy

The year was 1864, and the South was all but beaten, yet Jubal Early’s ragged army had D.C. within its grasp

Document Deep Dive

A Deeper Look at the Politicians Who Passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Fifty years later, a dive into what it took to make the historic legislation law

Natchez, a historic cotton and sugar port on the Mississippi River, has seen its population fall by a third since 1960.

The Soul of the South

Fifty years after the civil rights summer of 1964, renowned travel writer Paul Theroux chronicles the living memory of an overlooked America

USS Constitution vs. HMS Guerriere by Thomas Birch, circa 1813

The British View the War of 1812 Quite Differently Than Americans Do

The star-spangled war confirmed independence for the United States. But for Great Britain, it was a betrayal

When Copy and Paste Reigned in the Age of Scrapbooking

Today’s obsession with posting material to Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter has a very American history

Springer Auditorium in Music Hall.

America’s Most Endangered Historic Places

Here are the 11 endangered sites—including the prison where Solomon Northup was held—on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2014 list

This month's Atlantic cover story by Ta-Nehisi Coates is generating some serious discussion about "The Case for Reparations."

Breaking Ground

America’s Moral Debt to African Americans

The director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture joins the discussion around “The Case for Reparations”

Sacajawea guiding the expedition from Mandan through the Rocky Mountains. Painting by Alfred Russell.

Lewis and Clark Only Became Popular 50 Years Ago

For 150 years, the famous explorers were relatively unknown characters

Noon mass at Saint Vincent de Paul's Church on D-Day.

Photos From the Hours After Americans Heard About the D-Day Invasion

Black and white photos from the Library of Congress show New Yorkers rallying, praying, on June 6, 1944

Les Braves war memorial sculpture on Omaha Beach.

Why a Walk Along the Beaches of Normandy Is the Ideal Way to Remember D-Day

Follow in the footsteps of legendary reporter Ernie Pyle to get a real feel for the events that took place 70 years ago

Page 127 of 173