Elections | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/elections/RSS feed for ElectionsenWed, 10 Dec 2025 18:52:50 +0000Can Chatting With an A.I. Bot Shift Our Political Beliefs?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/can-chatting-with-an-ai-bot-shift-our-political-beliefs-180987823/New research suggests that chatbots have a greater sway on policy issues than video ads, and that spouting the most information—even if wrong—is the most persuasive strategyWed, 10 Dec 2025 18:52:50 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/can-chatting-with-an-ai-bot-shift-our-political-beliefs-180987823/The Real Story Behind Netflix's 'Death by Lightning' and the Shocking Assassination of President James A. Garfieldhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-real-story-behind-netflixs-death-by-lightning-and-the-shocking-assassination-of-president-james-a-garfield-180987598/The new limited series dramatizes the brief tenure of the 20th commander in chief, who was fatally shot by Charles J. Guiteau, a lawyer who believed he'd secured Garfield's electionThu, 06 Nov 2025 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-real-story-behind-netflixs-death-by-lightning-and-the-shocking-assassination-of-president-james-a-garfield-180987598/Twelve Failed Constitutional Amendments That Could Have Reshaped American Historyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/twelve-failed-constitutional-amendments-that-could-have-reshaped-american-history-180987425/These proposals sought to change the United States' name, abolish the presidency and the vice presidency, and set a limit on personal fortunes, among other measuresMon, 06 Oct 2025 13:18:24 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/twelve-failed-constitutional-amendments-that-could-have-reshaped-american-history-180987425/The Founding Father Who Lost a Leg, Romanced Married and Single Women Alike, and Escaped the Bloodshed of the French Revolutionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-founding-father-who-lost-a-leg-romanced-married-and-single-women-alike-and-escaped-the-bloodshed-of-the-french-revolution-180987242/Gouverneur Morris wrote the preamble to the Constitution and shaped the future of the nascent United States. Later in life, he rejected the foundational document as a failureTue, 02 Sep 2025 10:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-founding-father-who-lost-a-leg-romanced-married-and-single-women-alike-and-escaped-the-bloodshed-of-the-french-revolution-180987242/How the 1973 D.C. Home Rule Act Enabled the Nation's Capital to Govern Itself—With Congressional Oversighthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-1973-dc-home-rule-act-enabled-the-nations-capital-to-govern-itself-with-congressional-oversight-180987180/Far from being a new debate brought on by current events, the discussion over extending home rule to Washingtonians has been around as long as the District of Columbia itselfThu, 14 Aug 2025 21:13:42 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-the-1973-dc-home-rule-act-enabled-the-nations-capital-to-govern-itself-with-congressional-oversight-180987180/How Women in New Jersey Gained—and Lost—the Right to Vote More Than a Century Before the 19th Amendment Granted Suffrage Nationwidehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-women-in-new-jersey-gained-and-lostthe-right-to-vote-more-than-a-century-before-the-19th-amendment-granted-suffrage-nationwide-180986930/Vague phrasing in the state’s Revolutionary-era Constitution enfranchised women who met specific property requirements. A 1790 law explicitly allowed female suffrage, but this privilege was revoked in 1807Tue, 08 Jul 2025 15:03:49 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-women-in-new-jersey-gained-and-lostthe-right-to-vote-more-than-a-century-before-the-19th-amendment-granted-suffrage-nationwide-180986930/Would You Wear a Wedding Dress Made of Disposable Paper? These 1960s Brides Donned Them to Save Money—and Make a Daring Fashion Statementhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/would-you-wear-a-wedding-dress-made-of-disposable-paper-these-1960s-brides-donned-them-to-save-moneyand-make-a-daring-fashion-statement-180986663/Created with synthetic textiles, the "nonwoven" gowns could be shortened for the reception or easily packed away for the honeymoonTue, 27 May 2025 13:19:16 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/would-you-wear-a-wedding-dress-made-of-disposable-paper-these-1960s-brides-donned-them-to-save-moneyand-make-a-daring-fashion-statement-180986663/When No Candidate Won the 1824 Presidential Election, the House of Representatives Was Given the Rare Task of Deciding the Victorhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/when-no-candidate-won-the-1824-presidential-election-the-house-of-representatives-was-given-the-rare-task-of-deciding-the-victor-180985409/A "corrupt bargain" that delivered John Quincy Adams the presidency ended the Era of Good Feelings and prompted a new period of partisan hostilitySun, 01 Dec 2024 10:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/when-no-candidate-won-the-1824-presidential-election-the-house-of-representatives-was-given-the-rare-task-of-deciding-the-victor-180985409/When White Supremacists Staged the Only Successful Coup in U.S. Historyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-white-supremacists-staged-the-only-successful-coup-in-us-history-180985400/The 1898 Wilmington massacre left dozens of Black North Carolinians dead. Conspirators also forced the city's multiracial government to resign at gunpointFri, 08 Nov 2024 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-white-supremacists-staged-the-only-successful-coup-in-us-history-180985400/These Black Americans Were Killed for Exercising Their Political Right to Votehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/these-black-americans-were-killed-for-exercising-their-political-right-to-vote-180985383/In the Jim Crow South, activists became martyrs at the hands of white racists, all for the just cause of using the vote to fight for equality and freedomMon, 04 Nov 2024 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/these-black-americans-were-killed-for-exercising-their-political-right-to-vote-180985383/