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History / U.S. History

Electronic government of the future from the 1981 kids book, World of Tomorrow by Neil Ardley

Five Past Visions of Our Political Future

Some people thought that once women were allowed to vote, men would soon lose that privilege

PHOTOS: The History of Abraham Lincoln on Film

The 16th president has been a Hollywood star and box office attraction since the earliest days of Hollywood

The first page of Theodore Roosevelt's speech that was damaged when a bullet tore through it.

The Speech That Saved Teddy Roosevelt’s Life

Campaigning for president, Roosevelt was spared almost certain death when 50 pieces of paper slowed an assailant’s bullet headed for his chest

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“Confederates Try to Burn New York”

A new poem by George Green

A still from Lincoln, directed by Steven Spielberg.

The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Mr. Lincoln Goes to Hollywood

Steven Spielberg, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Tony Kushner talk about what it takes to wrestle an epic presidency into a feature film

Years before the infamous events of Salem, Easthampton, New York was riddled with allegations of witchcraft. Pictured is an old windmill next to a graveyard in the small town.

Before Salem, There Was the Not-So-Wicked Witch of the Hamptons

Why was Goody Garlick, accused of witchcraft in 1658, spared the fate that would befall the women of Massachusetts decades later

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A Brief History of the Teleprompter

How a makeshift show business memory aid became the centerpiece of modern political campaigning

This photograph of a medium-range ballistic missile site in Cuba was captured by a U-2 spy plane on October 14, 1962.

Document Deep Dive

Document Deep Dive: What Did Analysts Find in the Recon Photographs From the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Dino Brugioni explains how he and other CIA photo analysts located Soviet missiles just 90 miles away from the United States

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From the Editor

From the Editor

"It's possible my natural level is in the Senate," John F. Kennedy said—but then he won the 1960 election. As president, he and his wife hosted Ben and Tony Bradlee (left and third from left) at the White House.

Kennedy After Dark: A Dinner Party About Politics and Power

In this exclusive transcript from the JFK library, hear what he had to say just days after announcing his candidacy for the presidency

Low-altitude images, previously unpublished, reveal gaps in U.S. intelligence. Analysts failed to detect tactical nuclear warheads at a bunker near Managua.

The Photographs That Prevented World War III

While researching a book on the Cuban missile crisis, the writer unearthed new spy images that could have changed history

“I’d come back from an op and couldn’t wait for what happens next,” says Douglas Groat (shown in a reenactment with tools of the trade).

The CIA Burglar Who Went Rogue

Douglas Groat thought he understood the risks of his job—until he took on his own employer

Dr. Lewis Fielding’s File Cabinet.

The World’s Most Famous Filing Cabinet

After Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers, the notorious Plumbers broke into his psychiatrist’s office, looking for a way to discredit him

At the gravesite of Mercy Lena Brown, right, sightseers leave offerings such as plastic vampire teeth and jewelry.

The Great New England Vampire Panic

Two hundred years after the Salem witch trials, farmers became convinced that their relatives were returning from the grave to feed on the living

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Play the Great American History Puzzle

Jeopardy! Champion Ken Jennings takes you on a challenging adventure through the secrets of American history. Will you be our grand prize winner?

Lunch Atop a Skyscraper Photograph: The Story Behind the Famous Shot

For 80 years, the 11 ironworkers in the iconic photo have remained unknown, and now, thanks to new research, two of them have been identified

At home and abroad, vampire scares usually began when a person died and others in the vicinity began dying, too, usually of the same sickness.

Halloween

Meet the Real-Life Vampires of New England and Abroad

The legend of the blood suckers, and the violence heaped upon their corpses, came out of ignorance of contagious disease

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How a New Yorker Article Launched the First Shot in the War Against Poverty

When a powerful 1963 piece laid out the stark poverty in America, the White House took action

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From the Editor

From the Editor

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World War I: 100 Years Later

Document Deep Dive: What Did the Zimmermann Telegram Say?

See how British cryptologists cracked the coded message that propelled the United States into World War I

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