https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/american-history/RSS feed for American HistoryenTue, 27 Oct 2026 12:25:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-the-sweeping-dune-walls-and-125-foot-bas-relief-sculpture-at-the-national-mall-newest-memorial-dedicated-to-veterans-of-operations-desert-shield-and-desert-storm-180989759/The Desert Shield and Desert Storm Memorial is an oasis-like place for honoring the Americans who served and lost their lives in combat to liberate Kuwait in the early 1990sTue, 27 Oct 2026 12:25:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-the-sweeping-dune-walls-and-125-foot-bas-relief-sculpture-at-the-national-mall-newest-memorial-dedicated-to-veterans-of-operations-desert-shield-and-desert-storm-180989759/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/art-museums-in-milwaukee-and-tampa-bay-are-betting-that-their-hometown-baseball-teams-will-win-the-world-series-the-wager-monet-paintings-180989753/As the Brewers take on the Rays in the Fall Classic, two art museums are engaged in a friendly bit of sports betting: The winning city (temporarily) gets a Monet from the other city's collectionMon, 26 Oct 2026 18:16:26 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/art-museums-in-milwaukee-and-tampa-bay-are-betting-that-their-hometown-baseball-teams-will-win-the-world-series-the-wager-monet-paintings-180989753/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/two-years-after-world-war-ii-ended-this-ship-brought-the-bodies-of-6251-fallen-service-members-back-home-to-america-180989740/The S.S. "Joseph V. Connolly" arrived in New York City on October 26, 1947. The caskets stored in its holds contained the remains of privates and three-star generals alikeMon, 26 Oct 2026 16:07:32 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/two-years-after-world-war-ii-ended-this-ship-brought-the-bodies-of-6251-fallen-service-members-back-home-to-america-180989740/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-claimed-a-blurry-object-on-apple-maps-was-very-likely-amelia-earharts-missing-plane-it-turned-out-to-be-a-collection-of-large-trees-180989734/A 17-person crew traveled to a remote atoll in the South Pacific to investigate the so-called Taraia Object. After surveying the site, the team announced that the anomaly was not a fragment of the long-lost Lockheed Electra aircraftThu, 22 Oct 2026 16:20:14 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-claimed-a-blurry-object-on-apple-maps-was-very-likely-amelia-earharts-missing-plane-it-turned-out-to-be-a-collection-of-large-trees-180989734/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-rhode-island-man-grew-the-first-pumpkin-to-surpass-3000-pounds-the-gargantuan-gourd-is-the-largest-fruit-ever-180989723/On October 10, Ron Wallace took the pumpkin king crown with a 3,156-pounder. The previous record—a respectable, nearly 2,857-pound pumpkin—was set just a week earlier by British grower Ian PatonTue, 20 Oct 2026 21:20:19 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-rhode-island-man-grew-the-first-pumpkin-to-surpass-3000-pounds-the-gargantuan-gourd-is-the-largest-fruit-ever-180989723/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/construction-work-on-the-north-dakota-governors-residence-accidentally-unearthed-seven-coffins-dating-back-to-the-states-early-settlement-180989686/The cemetery site was established in 1872, when the state capital Bismarck was a small frontier community called Edwinton. Most, but not all, of its gravesites were exhumed five years later to make way for a railroadThu, 15 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/construction-work-on-the-north-dakota-governors-residence-accidentally-unearthed-seven-coffins-dating-back-to-the-states-early-settlement-180989686/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/in-the-1970s-the-us-commissioned-photographers-to-document-the-countrys-people-and-places-you-can-now-see-more-than-200-of-the-powerful-images-180989671/At the Smithsonian American Art Museum, a “national portrait” reveals what the United States looked like during its bicentennial periodTue, 13 Oct 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/in-the-1970s-the-us-commissioned-photographers-to-document-the-countrys-people-and-places-you-can-now-see-more-than-200-of-the-powerful-images-180989671/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-diver-volunteered-to-clean-up-trash-from-a-wisconsin-lake-he-discovered-a-1000-year-old-dugout-canoe-at-the-bottom-instead-180989622/Indigenous communities near present-day Milwaukee likely hand-carved the white-oak vessel before shaping it with fire between roughly 992 and 1049 C.E.Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:10:50 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-diver-volunteered-to-clean-up-trash-from-a-wisconsin-lake-he-discovered-a-1000-year-old-dugout-canoe-at-the-bottom-instead-180989622/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-soldiers-were-buried-in-an-unmarked-grave-during-the-revolutionary-war-now-historians-finally-know-their-names-180989621/At a recent memorial ceremony, officials honored 28 Continental soldiers and at least 38 British soldiers who were buried in Wilmington, Delaware, nearly 250 years agoTue, 06 Oct 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/these-soldiers-were-buried-in-an-unmarked-grave-during-the-revolutionary-war-now-historians-finally-know-their-names-180989621/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-arson-investigation-is-underway-after-a-suspected-sensless-act-of-vandalism-destroys-a-newly-installed-benjamin-harrison-statue-180989605/The 3D-printed piece was created by students and faculty at Indiana University Indianapolis and had been installed on September 16Fri, 02 Oct 2026 13:33:31 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/an-arson-investigation-is-underway-after-a-suspected-sensless-act-of-vandalism-destroys-a-newly-installed-benjamin-harrison-statue-180989605/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-marquis-de-lafayettes-brother-in-law-participated-in-three-revolutionary-wars-supporting-american-independence-but-brutally-suppressing-an-uprising-by-enslaved-africans-in-haiti-180989582/Louis-Marie, Viscount de Noailles, served during the American, French and Haitian Revolutions. "He fights wherever France fights, because he's a soldier and he believes in France," a historian saysThu, 01 Oct 2026 15:13:09 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-marquis-de-lafayettes-brother-in-law-participated-in-three-revolutionary-wars-supporting-american-independence-but-brutally-suppressing-an-uprising-by-enslaved-africans-in-haiti-180989582/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-milwaukee-art-museum-just-returned-two-ceramics-made-by-enslaved-potter-david-drake-to-his-descendants-180989586/The two vessels, one of them a signed 1855 jar, are the latest to be reinstituted to Drake’s family, who are on a mission to acquire the works of their ancestorTue, 29 Sep 2026 18:07:38 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-milwaukee-art-museum-just-returned-two-ceramics-made-by-enslaved-potter-david-drake-to-his-descendants-180989586/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-1884-gale-force-winds-ran-a-ship-aground-near-cape-code-now-the-noreaster-lashing-the-east-coast-may-have-uncovered-part-of-it-180989583/The wreckage could belong to the “Warren Sawyer,” a three-masted cargo schooner that foundered more than 140 years agoTue, 29 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-1884-gale-force-winds-ran-a-ship-aground-near-cape-code-now-the-noreaster-lashing-the-east-coast-may-have-uncovered-part-of-it-180989583/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/during-the-american-revolution-the-city-lancaster-pennsylvania-served-as-the-united-states-capital-for-just-one-day-180989544/The nascent nation's leaders fled to the inland city as the British advanced on Philadelphia in September 1777. They held one meeting at the local courthouse before moving on to YorkThu, 24 Sep 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/during-the-american-revolution-the-city-lancaster-pennsylvania-served-as-the-united-states-capital-for-just-one-day-180989544/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-social-worker-was-supposed-to-help-orphans-find-homes-instead-she-abducted-children-who-already-had-families-and-sold-them-for-profit-180989543/Between 1924 and 1950, Georgia Tann placed more than 5,000 children—many of them seized from their parents without permission—with wealthy families across the U.SWed, 23 Sep 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-social-worker-was-supposed-to-help-orphans-find-homes-instead-she-abducted-children-who-already-had-families-and-sold-them-for-profit-180989543/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/for-years-the-smithsonian-strove-to-bring-the-african-american-history-and-culture-museum-to-the-national-mall-now-it-celebrates-a-decade-as-a-beacon-of-understanding-community-and-resilience-180989535/The museum lovingly called the "Blacksonian" chronicles the past and present and envisions the future to tell the stories of Black life in AmericaTue, 22 Sep 2026 17:55:30 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/for-years-the-smithsonian-strove-to-bring-the-african-american-history-and-culture-museum-to-the-national-mall-now-it-celebrates-a-decade-as-a-beacon-of-understanding-community-and-resilience-180989535/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-founders-of-the-new-york-times-pledged-to-cover-every-subject-of-public-importance-175-years-later-the-paper-continues-to-publish-all-the-news-thats-fit-to-print-180989512/Much has changed since the publication debuted on September 18, 1851. What hasn't changed, staff members say, is the paper's missionFri, 18 Sep 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-founders-of-the-new-york-times-pledged-to-cover-every-subject-of-public-importance-175-years-later-the-paper-continues-to-publish-all-the-news-thats-fit-to-print-180989512/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-if-emmett-till-had-lived-a-new-exhibition-imagines-an-alternate-future-for-the-murdered-black-teenager-180989498/Featuring photographs by more than 110 artists, the show honors Till’s memory by inviting viewers to contemplate the person he might have become had he made it to adulthoodTue, 15 Sep 2026 16:01:58 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-if-emmett-till-had-lived-a-new-exhibition-imagines-an-alternate-future-for-the-murdered-black-teenager-180989498/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/in-the-aftermath-of-911-milton-glaser-creator-of-the-i-love-ny-logo-declared-that-he-loved-new-york-city-more-than-ever-180989475/The graphic designer revamped his world-famous emblem in response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The updated design underscored the city's resilience in the face of tragedyFri, 11 Sep 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/in-the-aftermath-of-911-milton-glaser-creator-of-the-i-love-ny-logo-declared-that-he-loved-new-york-city-more-than-ever-180989475/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/girl-scouts-of-america-announces-a-first-for-its-iconic-cookie-lineup-one-created-exclusively-for-dogs-180989479/For the first time in its 109-year history of cookie sales, the organization offers a custom-made sweet treat for four-legged friendsThu, 10 Sep 2026 19:28:28 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/girl-scouts-of-america-announces-a-first-for-its-iconic-cookie-lineup-one-created-exclusively-for-dogs-180989479/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-legendary-132-year-old-dime-recently-sold-for-more-than-12-million-at-auction-what-makes-it-so-extraordinary-180989476/Only 24 of the 1894-S Barber dimes were minted in San Francisco in June 1894, and just nine known specimens exist todayWed, 09 Sep 2026 19:33:07 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-legendary-132-year-old-dime-recently-sold-for-more-than-12-million-at-auction-what-makes-it-so-extraordinary-180989476/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/secretary-lonnie-bunch-announces-retirement-head-smithsonian-38-years-service-institution-180989460/With a storied career dating back to the 1970s, Bunch leaves a remarkable legacy, most notably the founding of the National Museum of African American History and CultureTue, 08 Sep 2026 16:18:35 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/secretary-lonnie-bunch-announces-retirement-head-smithsonian-38-years-service-institution-180989460/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-did-the-nation-get-its-name-other-suggestions-included-the-united-colonies-columbia-and-the-united-states-of-alleghania-180989435/The nascent country adopted its name 250 years ago, on September 9, 1776. Americans have debated the moniker ever since. One congressman even proposed the "United States of the Earth"Tue, 08 Sep 2026 11:45:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-did-the-nation-get-its-name-other-suggestions-included-the-united-colonies-columbia-and-the-united-states-of-alleghania-180989435/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/before-vegas-hot-springs-americas-sin-city-arkansas-spa-town-embraces-colorful-seedy-history-180989288/A life-size statue of Al Capone greets downtown visitors, and you can stay in his hotel suite. The town where gangsters once vacationed with movie stars and athletes is still open for a getawayWed, 02 Sep 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/before-vegas-hot-springs-americas-sin-city-arkansas-spa-town-embraces-colorful-seedy-history-180989288/