American History
How to Make an Authentic Civil War Valentine
Handmade Valentine cards were popularized (and commercialized) in the U.S. during the Civil War years
The Century-Long History of Tapping Wall Street to Run the Government
Looking to the one-percent to lead the country goes back to the era of World War I
When Some 1920s Garbage Was Mistaken for an Ancient Artifact
The "Coso Artifact" was fuel for those who want to believe that the truth is out there
The History and Science Behind Your Terrible Breath
Persistent mouth-stink has been dousing the flames of passion for millennia. Why haven’t we come up with a cure?
Newly Discovered Photo May Depict a Younger Harriet Tubman
The late 1860s carte-de-visite comes from fellow abolitionist Emily Howland's album
The Southern Romance of the Nation's Oldest Public Garden
Three centuries of beauty and history are on display at the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens
Computers Are Great at Chess, But That Doesn't Mean the Game Is 'Solved'
On this day in 1996, the computer Deep Blue made history when it beat Garry Kasparov
In the Congressional Fight Over Slavery, Decorum Went Out the Door
Amid today's dissent over proper Senate behavior, take a look back at when an assault in the Senate divided the nation
The Brief 1930s Craze for 'Tom Thumb Golf'
Miniature golf courses had been around before, but Garnet Carter gave it a roadside attraction spin
The “Scandalous” Quarter Protest That Wasn’t
Were Americans really so outraged by a semi-topless Lady Liberty that the U.S. Mint had to censor this coin?
Watch the Original 1959 Ad for the First Office-Ready Xerox Machine
When the Xerox 914 entered offices, the working world changed forever
Mutiny in Space: Why These Skylab Astronauts Never Flew Again
In 1973, it was the longest space mission — 84 days in the stars. But at some point the astronauts just got fed up
The Soprano Who Upended Americans' Racist Stereotypes About Who Could Sing Opera
Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield was in many ways the nation's first black pop star
The Little House on the Prairie Was Built on Native American Land
Yesterday was Laura Ingalls Wilder's 150th birthday. It's time to take a critical look at her work
The Invention of Vintage Clothing
It all began with the Davy Crockett coonskin hat craze and a bunch of Bohemians yearning to swathe themselves in decades-old fur
What Geology Has to Say About Building a 1,000-Mile Border Wall
Compared to erecting a marble palace or high-steepled church, a wall may seem relatively straightforward—it isn’t
How One Black Family Drove an Auto Racing Association to the Winner’s Circle
A new collection at the National Museum of American History reveals the untold story
The Chief Designer of the ‘Titanic’ Saved Everyone He Could as His Ship Went Down
Thomas Andrews had argued for more lifeboats on the ship, but he was rebuffed on the grounds that it would ruin the view
How the Passport Became an Improbable Symbol of American Identity
The idea of having documents to cross borders is ancient, but when it became popularized in the U.S., it caused quite the stir
Muslims Were Banned From the Americas as Early as the 16th Century
Long before today’s anxiety about terror attacks, Spain and England feared that enslaved Africans would be more susceptible to revolt if they were Muslim
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