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History / U.S. History

Title page to Garrard Conley's workbook from the gay-conversion camp Love in Action

Smithsonian Voices

The History of ‘Getting the Gay Out’

Conversion therapy made being different dangerous

Visionary executive William Barstow Strong led the second transcontinental line, the Santa Fe, in the 1880s, paving the way for thousands of miles of track.

How the Santa Fe Railroad Changed America Forever

The golden spike made the newspapers. But another railroad made an even bigger difference to the nation

Matt Shepard in high school, taken in Lugano, Switzerland

Smithsonian Voices

The Story of Matthew Shepard’s Life Is Told in Artifacts Held at the National Museum of American History

Being LGBTQ can dangerous and a personal burden, but theses objects show that it can also be joyful and fabulous

Custard apple trees—a freshwater version of mangroves once ringed Lake Okeechobee’s southern shore in a three-mile-wide belt. Today, barely 100 acres remain.

The Strange Beauty at the Edge of the Everglades

Chronicling the historic struggles of the Florida farming community known as Belle Glade

His exposés of New York City slums would “send a chill to any heart,” wrote Jacob Riis, who also covered crime.

A Sensational Murder Case That Ended in a Wrongful Conviction

The role of famed social reformer Jacob Riis in overturning the verdict prefigured today’s calls for restorative justice

André Michaux, a French botanist, was an ambitious explorer whose legacy has largely been forgotten.

The Forgotten French Scientist Who Courted Thomas Jefferson—and Got Pulled Into Scandal

A decade before Lewis and Clark, André Michaux wanted to explore the American continent. Spying for France gave him that chance

Lacey Baker's personalized skateboards

Smithsonian Voices

How LGBTQ Skateboarders Have Carved Out a Place at the Park

The Smithsonian has collected from members of the diverse and fiercely dedicated LGBTQ skate community

An engineer demonstrates a car phone five months before the historic first call on a competing company’s commercial mobile telephone service in 1946.

The First Mobile Phone Call Was Made 75 Years Ago

The evolution of the cell phone illustrates what it takes for technologies to go from breakthrough to big time

Photograph of ten people and a dog at a picnic table, 1919–1925

Commemorate Juneteenth With Free Virtual Programs From the Smithsonian

On June 19, NMAAHC will honor the end of slavery in the U.S. with events featuring Annette Gordon-Reed, Adrian Miller and more

Among the ways that the American History Museum has engaged visitors was the 2010 interactive play “Join the Student Sit-Ins,” starring actor Xavier Carnegie (above) at one of the iconic objects in the Smithsonian's collection, the Greensboro Lunch Counter, where on February 1,1960, four Black college students at North Carolina A & T University began a legendary sit-in for racial justice.

Innovation for Good

Why History Museums Are Convening a ‘Civic Season’

History is complex, says the Smithsonian’s Chris Wilson; here’s how to empower citizens with the lessons it offers

Transgender flag designed by Monica Helms (right), and friends. The flag's stripes represent the traditional pink and blue associated with girls and boys and white for intersex, transitioning, or of undefined gender. Helms served in the United States Navy and became an activist for transgender rights in the late 1990s in Arizona where she grew up. She designed the flag in 1999.

Smithsonian Voices

Can an Object Be Gay?

Curator Katherine Ott reflects on collecting and interpreting LBGTQ material culture

One of the Smithsonian Institution's most visited artifacts is the 209-year-old Star-Spangled Banner, the inspiration for the National Anthem.

A New Summer Tradition, a Three-Week ‘Civic Season,’ Asks Americans to Reflect on the Past and Future

Museums are inviting Americans to embrace the national story from its sins to its successes as a stepping stone towards a better future

Picket signs carried by protestors at the White House and Independence Hall in Philadelphia,1960s

Smithsonian Voices

The Most Radical Thing About Stonewall Wasn’t the Uprising

Much of the staying power of Stonewall’s reputation rests upon the Pride marches that began on the first anniversary a year later

A postcard of Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, New York, from 1914

Five of America’s Most Invincible Hotels

From Miami to San Francisco, these luxury establishments survived their share of crises before the Covid-19 pandemic

The free silver movement—which fought to allow for unfettered silver coinage alongside the gold standard—reflected the divides of 1890s America.

The U.S. Government’s Failed Attempt to Forge Unity Through Currency

In the late 1890s, the Bureau of Printing and Engraving tried to bridge the divide between silver and gold with a series of educational paper certificates

The new film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights draws on the real history of Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood.

The Immigrant History of the NYC Neighborhood Behind ‘In the Heights’

How Washington Heights, a community in upper Manhattan, became the heart of an award-winning musical and a hotly anticipated film adaptation

Miscellaneous objects from the museum’s collection that feature rainbows, including “That’s So Gay!” trivia game, coasters, and flags promoting marriage equality and immigration equality

LGBTQ+ Pride

Where Did the Rainbow Flag Come From, Anyway?

The mid-20th century was a time of vibrant social change and activism, with rainbows providing potent political symbolism for unity and diversity

A few short years after the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, Greenwood’s homes and businesses came back. This photograph shows a parade held in the Oklahoma neighborhood during the 1930s or '40s.

Remembering Tulsa

Decades After the Tulsa Race Massacre, Urban ‘Renewal’ Sparked Black Wall Street’s Second Destruction

In the 1960s, construction of four federal highways brought the rebuilt neighborhood of Greenwood’s prosperity to an abrupt end

Althea Gibson (shown in 1959) also broke the color line at the French Open.

Women Who Shaped History

Sixty-Five Years Ago, Althea Gibson Broke the Color Line at the French Open

She was the first Black athlete—man or woman—to win any major national tennis championship

This month's book picks include The Engagement, How the Word Is Passed and Drunk.

Books of the Month

The Fight to Legalize Gay Marriage, the Woman Who Couldn’t Be Silenced and Other New Books to Read

These June releases elevate overlooked stories and offer insights on oft-discussed topics

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