Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

History / U.S. History

An 1868 surgery kit, part of Harvard's Warren Anatomical Museum.

Highlights From the Warren Anatomical Museum

The collections inside this museum hold intriguing objects that tell the story of 19th century American medicine

Re-enactors dressed as George Washington and his volunteer Continental Army cross the Delaware River.

George Washington’s Christmas Crossing

An annual holiday tradition since 1952, re-enactors bring Washington crossing the Delaware to life

James "Pat" Daugherty, 85, served in the Army's storied 92nd Infantry Division, which was made up almost entirely of African-Americans.

Memoirs of a World War II Buffalo Soldier

In a recently published memoir written over 60 years ago, veteran James Daugherty details his experiences as an African-American in combat

Phineas Staunton paid homage to his subject, Henry Clay, in an 11-by7-foot canvas.

The Rescue of Henry Clay

A long-lost painting of the Senate’s Great Compromiser finds a fitting new home in the halls of the U.S. Capitol

Starting in 1864, Arlington National Cemetery was transformed into a military cemetery.

How Arlington National Cemetery Came to Be

The fight over Robert E. Lee’s beloved home—seized by the U.S. government during the Civil War—went on for decades

Hugh Van Es spent much of the day on Saigon's streets but saw the line of evacuees from his office window.

A Photo-Journalist’s Remembrance of Vietnam

The death of Hugh Van Es, whose photograph captured the Vietnam War’s end, launched a “reunion” of those who covered the conflict

None

Misperceptions

Closing in on 40 years

Flying With America’s Most Famous Female Aviators

Dozens of talented women preceded Amelia Earhart, and thousands have followed, and each has her own groundbreaking story to tell

Robert M. Poole has written for National Geographic, Preservation, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Smithsonian.

Robert M. Poole on “The Battle of Arlington”

Controversy over Meriwether Lewis' death has descendants and scholars campaigning to exhume his body at his grave site in Tennessee.

Meriwether Lewis’ Mysterious Death

Two hundred years later, debate continues over whether the famous explorer committed suicide or was murdered

John Brown and many of his followers holed up in the fire engine house awaiting reinforcements by a swarm of "bees"—slaves from the surrounding area. But only a handful showed up.

John Brown’s Day of Reckoning

The abolitionist’s bloody raid on a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry 150 years ago set the stage for the Civil War

None

Fevers

Temperatures at the Boiling Point

From childhood on, abolitionist John Brown (in a c.1847 daguerreotype taken by Augustus Washington) had sworn "eternal war with slavery."

John Brown’s Famous Photograph

An 1840s image captures an extremist’s fervor

The Big Burn by Timothy Egan tells the story of a wildfire that ripped through forests in Washington, Idaho and Montana.

Timothy Egan on “The Big Burn”

The forest fire of 1910 ripped through the town of Wallace, Idaho leaving it in complete shambles.

The Legacy of America’s Largest Forest Fire

A 1910 wildfire that raged across three Western states helped advance the nation’s conservation efforts

From 1942 through 1945, more than 400,000 Axis prisoners were shipped to the United States and detained in camps in rural areas across the country.

German POWs on the American Homefront

Thousands of World War II prisoners ended up in mills, farm fields and even dining rooms across the United States

The United States expanded from the original 13 colonies in a series of deals that began in 1783 with the Treaty of Paris.

Top 10 Nation-Building Real Estate Deals

Luck and hard bargaining contributed to the growth of the United States. But with expansion came consequences

None

Strongmen

Larger than life, for ill and good

Library of Congress curator Mark Dimunation embarked on years-long mission to track down copies of books once owned by Thomas Jefferson.

On the Hunt for Jefferson’s Lost Books

A Library of Congress curator is on a worldwide mission to find exact copies of the books that belonged to Thomas Jefferson

The Appalachian Trail crosses 14 states, six national parks and eight national forests.

Tales From the Appalachian Trail

The stories of ten hikers who have traveled the 2,000-mile-path through the eastern United States tell the history of the trail

Page 147 of 173