Reconstruction | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/reconstruction/RSS feed for ReconstructionenTue, 26 May 2026 11:00:49 +0000Brazil Lost 80 Percent of Its National Museum Collection in One Night. Here's How It's Fighting to Rebuildhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/brazil-lost-80-percent-of-its-national-museum-collection-in-one-night-heres-how-its-fighting-to-rebuild-180988796/Ever since a 2018 blaze destroyed priceless artifacts and scientifically important specimens, museum staff have devoted themselves to reopening its doors to the publicTue, 26 May 2026 11:00:49 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/brazil-lost-80-percent-of-its-national-museum-collection-in-one-night-heres-how-its-fighting-to-rebuild-180988796/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/This Visionary African American Politician Dreamed of Creating an All-Black State in Oklahoma Territoryhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-visionary-african-american-politician-dreamed-of-creating-an-all-black-state-in-oklahoma-territory-180987093/Edward P. McCabe petitioned Benjamin Harrison for an opportunity to show him that Black people "are men and women capable of self‑government." When the president was unmoved, McCabe and his followers went west anywayTue, 12 Aug 2025 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-visionary-african-american-politician-dreamed-of-creating-an-all-black-state-in-oklahoma-territory-180987093/The Nation's First Black Female Doctor Blazed a Path for Women in Medicine. But She Was Left Out of the Story for Decadeshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-nations-first-black-female-doctor-blazed-a-path-for-women-in-medicine-but-she-was-left-out-of-the-story-for-decades-180986328/After earning a medical degree in 1864, Rebecca Lee Crumpler died in obscurity and was buried without a headstoneMon, 31 Mar 2025 10:30:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-nations-first-black-female-doctor-blazed-a-path-for-women-in-medicine-but-she-was-left-out-of-the-story-for-decades-180986328/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/Abraham Lincoln's Oft-Overlooked Campaign to Promote Immigration to the U.S.https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/abraham-lincolns-oft-overlooked-campaign-to-promote-immigration-to-the-us-180983740/A few weeks after the president delivered the Gettysburg Address, he called on Congress to welcome immigrants as a "source of national wealth and strength"Thu, 08 Feb 2024 12:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/abraham-lincolns-oft-overlooked-campaign-to-promote-immigration-to-the-us-180983740/How the Smithsonian Is Helping Black Americans Trace Their Rootshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-the-smithsonian-is-helping-black-americans-trace-their-roots-180983727/Free sessions hosted by the National Museum of African American History and Culture offer visitors advice on researching their genealogyTue, 06 Feb 2024 12:15:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-the-smithsonian-is-helping-black-americans-trace-their-roots-180983727/The Formerly Enslaved Black Bordello Queen Who Built a Notorious Business Empirehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-formerly-enslaved-black-bordello-queen-who-built-a-notorious-business-empire-180983319/In 19th-century St. Louis, Madam Priscilla Henry earned a life-changing fortune—and scores of enemies vying for her crownThu, 30 Nov 2023 15:29:29 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-formerly-enslaved-black-bordello-queen-who-built-a-notorious-business-empire-180983319/Why America Is Just Now Learning to Love Thaddeus Stevens, the 'Best-Hated Man' in U.S. Historyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/america-just-now-learning-love-thaddeus-stevens-best-hated-man-us-history-180983235/The Pennsylvanian was one of America’s greatest heroes. Why hasn’t he gotten his due?Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/america-just-now-learning-love-thaddeus-stevens-best-hated-man-us-history-180983235/