Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

History / U.S. History

Rutgers student on move-in day in the early 1960s

How College Dorms Evolved to Fit America’s Gender and Racial Politics

Ever since the 17th century, educators and architects designed university housing with societal mores in mind

By day the members of the Megatherium Club, united by youth, ambition, intelligence and a deep and abiding love of the natural world, hunched over jars of marine worms in alcohol or endless trays of fossils…At night they were ready to cut loose.

The Hard-Drinking Early Smithsonian Naturalists of the Megatherium Club

William Stimpson created a fraternity of young scientists and named it for an extinct North American sloth

A small but vocal group of Molokai residents has aggressively opposed plans for economic development, including cruise ship visits.

Why Molokai, With All Its Wonders, Is the Least Developed of Hawai‘i’s Islands

Even centuries before Captain Cook’s arrival, its resources were exploited by outsiders

Iwo Jima by David Levinthal, from the series "History," 2013

What David Levinthal’s Photos of Toys Reveal About American Myth and Memory

A new show at the Smithsonian American Art Museum reflects on iconic events including JFK’s assassination, flag raising at Iwo Jima and Custer’s last stand

Detail of portrait of President James Buchanan by artist George Peter Alexander Healy

The 175-Year History of Speculating About President James Buchanan’s Bachelorhood

Was his close friendship with William Rufus King just that, or was it evidence that he was the nation’s first gay chief executive?

At the height of the book scare, news outlets reported that dust from library books could spread infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, smallpox and scarlet fever.

When the Public Feared That Library Books Could Spread Deadly Diseases

“The great book scare” created a panic that you could catch an infection just by lending from the library

The sculptor Edmonia Lewis (above: by Henry Rocher, c. 1870), “really broke through every obstacle," says the Smithsonian's Karen Lemmey.

Women Who Shaped History

Sculptor Edmonia Lewis Shattered Gender and Race Expectations in 19th-Century America

As the orphaned child of a black father and a Native-American mother, Lewis rewrote the 19th-century definition of sculptor

Samples of trinitite from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

A Chunk of Trinitite Reminds Us of the Sheer, Devastating Power of the Atomic Bomb

Within the Smithsonian’s collections exists a telltale trace of the weapon that would change the world forever

Americans who distrusted their Catholic, French-speaking neighbors burned the Old South Church in Bath, Maine.

When an Influx of French-Canadian Immigrants Struck Fear Into Americans

In the late 19th century, they came to work in New England cotton mills, but the New York Times, among others, saw something more sinister

Stephanie Kwolek's initial ambition was not to be chemist at all.

You Can Thank Chemist Stephanie Kwolek for Bulletproof Vests and Yoga Pants

The long-serving researcher at DuPont invented kevlar and contributed to spandex

No image of Henrietta Wood survives today, but her story is recorded in court filings, including the verdict slip above.

Women Who Shaped History

In 1870, Henrietta Wood Sued for Reparations—and Won

The $2,500 verdict, the largest ever of its kind, offers evidence of the generational impact such awards can have

The exceedingly private and humble Marian Anderson (Above: by Beauford Delaney, 1965, detail) would become a worldwide phenom.

Women Who Shaped History

How Marian Anderson Became an Iconic Symbol for Equality

Her beautiful voice famously rang out from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial; a new show takes a look at the highs and lows of her global acclaim

The Wiffle Ball comes with slots on one side to make it easier to throw curves and other pitches.

How the Wiffle Ball Came to Be

Patented in 1957, the lightweight ball saved players’ arms and more than a few windows

Julia Child and her husband Paul Child at their home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Food, Glorious Food

Remembering Julia Child

Smithsonian curator Paula Johnson addresses many of the questions visitors ask about America’s beloved cooking teacher and her kitchen

Actress Pauline Cushman (1833-1893) was a Union spy and became a major celebrity.

Women Who Shaped History

The Actress Who Left the Stage to Become a Civil War Spy

Pauline Cushman, now featured in a Smithsonian photography exhibition, unexpectedly found herself spying for the Union after accepting a dare

One witness to an 1859 Northern Lights display was the artist Frederic Edwin Church, who later painted Aurora Borealis (above, detail).

Re:Frame

The Crazy Superstitions and Real-Life Science of the Northern Lights

In the latest episode of ‘Re:Frame,’ Smithsonian curators take a deep dive into the dramatic painting ‘Aurora Borealis’ by Frederic Church

The "Mark Twain" launched in early 1882 as an 18-size, key-wound movement with a subsidiary seconds function.

Mark Twain’s Quest to Bring Affordable Watches to the Masses

At one time, he even invested in a watch company that launched a signature ‘Mark Twain’ pocket watch

The artwork Harvest Time, (detail) by Doris Lee, is featured in the next episode of a new video web series, titled “Re:Frame.”

Re:Frame

How American Brewers Employed Fine Art to Sell Beer

The Smithsonian’s ‘Re:Frame’ investigates how artist Doris Lee gave beer a new post-prohibition image of domesticity and conviviality

In 1912, sculptor Alexander Phimister Proctor created Buffalo (model for Q Street Bridge).

Re:Frame

What Do Bovids, Bridges and the West Have to Do With American Art?

In the debut episode of “Re:Frame,” Smithsonian curators explore the iconic symbol of the West, the American Bison

Map of Nevada, 1866

What’s in a Name? Meet the Government Employees Who Make the Call

A little-known patchwork of bureaucratic boards are tasked with deciding when to change the names of geographic places

Page 61 of 171