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History / U.S. History

She was known as Vicky With Three Kisses— a German radio star whose singing and sweet talk comforted weary Nazi soldiers. She was actually a secret weapon in a little-known Allied propaganda effort.

One of the Allies’ Secret Weapons Against the Nazis Was a 21-Year-Old Woman Armed With a Microphone and a Script of Lies

As “Vicky With Three Kisses,” she strategically sweet-talked and sang to German troops over the airwaves of Europe. But Agnes Bernauer didn’t mean anything she was saying

A 19th-century painting of the siege of Yorktown, with the Marquis de Lafayette depicted to the right of George Washington (center, right). A popular story suggests that Lafayette ordered the Continental fife and drum corps to play “Yankee Doodle” as the defeated British soldiers marched out to surrender after the battle.

America's 250th Anniversary

‘Yankee Doodle’ Was One of America’s Earliest Protest Songs. But Its Origins Are Shrouded in Mystery

Historians have debunked many of the popular theories surrounding the tune’s creation. Still, its legacy as a patriotic anthem endures

Clockwise from top left: John Quincy Adams, William Henry Harrison, James K. Polk, Abraham Lincoln, Jimmy Carter, Herbert Hoover, James A. Garfield and Ulysses S. Grant

One Was a Teenage Diplomat. Another Was a Nuclear Engineer. Here’s How Eight Presidents Made Their Mark Outside of the White House

From Abraham Lincoln’s patent to James A. Garfield’s geometry proof, learn how these 19th- and 20th-century commanders in chief shaped their legacies beyond politics

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Here Are 250 Places to Visit to Celebrate America’s 250th Birthday. How Many Have You Been To?

Journey around the nation with this interactive map, divided by region or category, and discover American history in a way you’ve never seen before

Michael Douglas as Benjamin Franklin in the Apple TV+ series "Franklin"

America's 250th Anniversary

What Are the Best TV Shows About the American Revolution? A Historian Outlines Five of His Favorites

The scholar’s picks include “Turn: Washington’s Spies,” “John Adams” and “Franklin”

People view the Declaration of Independence and other documents at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Ten of the Most Exciting Ways to Commemorate America’s 250th This Year

Our country’s birthday bash includes exhibitions, historical reenactments, a massive potluck and more

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There's More to That

A Stunning Escape From Slavery Told on Tattered Pages

Thomas White’s tale of finding freedom is discovered more than a century after it was documented

President Lyndon B. Johnson awards the Medal of Honor to Dwight Hal Johnson on November 19, 1968.

Untold Stories of American History

History Remembered This Black Medal of Honor Recipient for the Two Worst Days of His Life. A New Book Dives Into the Vietnam Vet’s Story

Dwight Hal Johnson received the nation’s highest military honor in 1968. Three years later, he was killed during an attempted robbery at age 23

Green, from an illustration published in 1872

Samuel Green Freed Himself and Others From Slavery. Then He Was Imprisoned Over Owning a Book

After buying his own liberty, the Marylander covertly assisted conductors on the Underground Railroad, including Harriet Tubman. But his possession of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” turned him into an abolitionist hero

Detail of a 19th-century mural in the Library of Congress that depicts America as a successor to ancient Egypt

How White Southerners Distorted the History of Ancient Egypt to Justify Slavery in the U.S.

American writers misleadingly interpreted Egypt’s past to argue that slavery was a divinely sanctioned institution

A hand-colored map from 1860 depicts parts of Manhattan,  Brooklyn, Hoboken and Jersey City. 

The Time When New York City Seriously Considered Seceding From the United States

A culture clash driven by finances and Old World alignments had the Big Apple contemplating leaving the Union. The Civil War ended that

An examiner affixes a “driver testing” notice ahead of a road test in South Carolina, in the mid-20th century. 

The Driver’s License Used to Say Who Can Drive. Now It Says a Lot About Who We Are

What was once a simple paper card has evolved with the tech of the times as it has gone from protecting our roads to playing a role in national security

As a 26-year-old colonel, Washington stood between confused Virginian troops to stop their fire.

America's 250th Anniversary

A Skirmish Early in George Washington’s Military Career Helped Define Him. It Could Have Killed Him

New evidence helps resolve enduring mysteries about a 1758 incident that nearly cost the future president his life—and shaped his views on the battles yet to come

Fascinating finds unveiled in 2025 ranged from an Auguste Rodin sculpture to a ring bearing the likeness of the goddess Venus Victrix.

Cool Finds

Seventy-Two Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2025, From a Luxury Spa in Pompeii to a Pair of World War I Messages in a Bottle

The year’s most exciting discoveries included the site where a young George Washington stopped a friendly fire incident, the missing torso of a Buddha statue and a hidden Picasso painting

Walter Reed Parpart Jr. (right), the radioman on one of the missing planes, poses in front of a Fort Lauderdale sign in 1945.

How the Disappearance of Flight 19, a Navy Squadron Lost in 1945, Fueled the Legend of the Bermuda Triangle

Eighty years ago, five planes vanished during a training run off the Florida coast. A patrol plane sent to search for the men went missing, too, giving rise to a host of conspiracy theories

Smithsonian magazine's picks for the best history books of 2025 include We the People, The Stolen Crown and Medicine River.

The Best Books of 2025

The Ten Best History Books of 2025

Our favorite titles of the year resurrect overlooked histories and examine how the United States ended up where it is today

Demonstrators at an anti-Vietnam War protest held at Bronx Science High School in New York in April 1968

Untold Stories of American History

Newly Declassified Records Suggest Parents Collaborated With the FBI to Spy on Their Rebellious Teens During the 1960s

As high school students across the U.S. embraced political activism, adults turned to the authorities to shield their sons and daughters from radical influences

The day after the wreck, the New York Times devoted much of its front page to coverage of the tragedy and its victims. But grief quickly turned to anger as the public looked for answers.  

New York’s Grand Central Terminal Helped Provide the Blueprint for American Cities. It Happened by Accident

A train wreck that caused the death of more than a dozen commuters near the turn of the 20th century was the impetus behind a monumental project that changed the urban landscape

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Why Are There So Many Shipwrecks in the Great Lakes?

Meet a maritime archaeologist who explores the historic ships and dugout canoes that lurk beneath the surface of her watery backyard

Why is the Midwest covered with prairies instead of forests? 

Why Aren’t There Forests in the Midwest? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve Got Questions. We’ve Got Experts

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