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History / U.S. History

George Washington takes command of the Continental army.

The Plot to Kill George Washington

In The First Conspiracy, thriller writer Brad Meltzer uncovers a real-life story too good to turn into fiction

The Key Marco Cat was unearthed at Marco Island off Florida’s southwestern shore in the late 19th century.

This Hand-Carved Panther Statuette Embodies a Lost Civilization’s Harmony With Nature

Calusa Indians harnessed the bounty of Florida’s estuaries with respect and grace

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America at War

This Map Shows Where in the World the U.S. Military Is Combatting Terrorism

The infographic reveals for the first time that the U.S. is now operating in 40 percent of the world’s nations

Damage to the Philippine Legislative Building as a result of World War II. At the time, the Philippines was a U.S. colony.

Telling the History of the U.S. Through Its Territories

In “How to Hide an Empire,” Daniel Immerwahr explores America far beyond the borders of the Lower 48

Tom Hanks (center) won an Oscar for his portrayal of Andrew Beckett, a gay man suffering from AIDS.

Looking Back at ‘Philadelphia,’ 25 Years Later

What would the breakthrough movie about the AIDS crisis look like if it were made today?

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Introducing Our Special Issue on America at War

The nation’s epic, expanding fight against terrorism overseas

Kristi Casteel holds her son Joshua Casteel's dog tags.

America at War

The Priest of Abu Ghraib

Inside Iraq’s most notorious prison, an Army interrogator came face to face with a shocking truth about the war—and himself

A dog-tag memorial at Old North Church in Boston, which has honored service members killed in the Iraq and Afghan wars since 2006, making it the oldest such memorial in the country

America at War

How Should We Memorialize Those Lost in the War on Terror?

Americans have erected countless monuments to wars gone by. But how do we pay tribute to the fallen in a conflict that might never end?

Army Reservist Xiao Meng Sun, who left China six years ago, believes that military training teaches one to meet challenges.

Fighting to Be American

For centuries immigrants who served in the military could become American citizens. But are the women and men pictured here among the last?

Felicity Jones, playing future Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, makes the oral argument for Moritz in a scene from On the Basis of Sex.

Based on a True Story

The True Story of the Case Ruth Bader Ginsburg Argues in ‘On the Basis of Sex’

Moritz v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue was the first gender-discrimination suit Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg argued in court

In 1911, demonstrators protested following the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City.

Why the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire Makes for a Complicated History

Charged with manslaughter, the owners were acquitted in December 1911. A Smithsonian curator reexamines the labor and business practices of the era

Abigail Spencer as Lucy Preston, Malcolm Barrett as Rufus Carlin, and Matt Lanter as Wyatt Logan just got back from saving history. Again. NBD.

'Timeless' Recapped

One Last Time, Read Our ‘Timeless’ Deep Dive Into What the Beloved TV Show Got Right and Wrong

“Timeless”’s finale teaches us how to say goodbye to the intrepid, time-traveling crew

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Ingenious Minds

Studying Political Pessimism in the Past Actually Makes Historian Jon Grinspan Optimistic About the Future

Columnist David Brooks interviews the political historian about what we can learn from negative political engagement in our country’s history

Cartoonist Thomas Nast first drew Santa Claus in January 1863, for Harper's Weekly.

A Civil War Cartoonist Created the Modern Image of Santa Claus as Union Propaganda

Thomas Nast is legendary for his political cartoons, but he’s also responsible for the jolly St. Nick we know today

Featuring Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins, the new adaptation centers on the next generation of the Banks family.

The Practically Perfect Political Timing of Mary Poppins

Disney warned of reading too much into the timing of his films, but just now everyone could use a little “spit spot” from America’s favorite British Nanny

Col. Manuel Jimenez stands on patrol in Afghanistan

America at War

A Warrior Comes Home

Corporal Jimenez was on patrol in southern Afghanistan when a mine exploded, changing his life forever

Dyngo served three tours in Afghanistan before retiring to Washington, D.C.

America at War

The Story of Dyngo, a War Dog Brought Home From Combat

I brought a seasoned veteran of the conflict in Afghanistan into my home—and then things got wild

Redwood forest in California, similar to some of the terrain Josiah Gregg and his team crossed at the height of the California Gold Rush.

The Ill-Fated Expedition of a 19th-Century Scientist to Explore the California Wilderness

Even facing exposure and starvation, Josiah Gregg insisted on stopping to take measurements and observations, much to his companions’ distress

Beneath the Space Window at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., where a seven-gram sample of moon rock is incorporated into the design, a sold-out crowd gathered this week for the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 8.

NASA Won’t Be Going ‘Back’ to the Moon—It Wants to Go Beyond It

At a 50th-anniversary event for Apollo 8, NASA’s Jim Bridenstine envisioned the moon’s potential for future space exploration

Clean and compelling, Spacewar! pitted two player-controlled ships against one another and rewarded superior strategists. The PDP-1 lacked the memory to accommodate AI opponents.

How the First Popular Video Game Kicked Off Generations of Virtual Adventure

A simple contest of sci-fi strategy, ‘Spacewar!’ ushered in what is now a 140 billion dollar industry

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