American History

Esther Howland popularized and mass-produced Valentine's Day cards like this one, using lace and colorful paper.

How to Make an Authentic Civil War Valentine

Handmade Valentine cards were popularized (and commercialized) in the U.S. during the Civil War years

From left to right: Bernard Baruch, Norman H. Davis, Vance McCormick, Herbert Hoover

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

These grainy images, thought to have been originally published in a magazine dedicated to the paranormal, are all that remain of the "Coso artifact." The object itself hasn't been seen in decades. Clockwise from top: The "geode" in which the artifact was found, an x-ray of the interior, and a side view after the "geode" had been cut in half.

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

After the defeat of Cleopatra's forces by Octavian (later Augustus, emperor of Rome), the Egyptian queen and her lover Marc Antony fled to Egypt. In Shakespeare's imagining, one of Cleopatra's greatest fears was the the horrid breath of the Romans. Shown here: "The Death of Cleopatra" by Reginald Arthur, 1892.

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?

Previously unrecorded portrait of Harriet Tubman

Newly Discovered Photo May Depict a Younger Harriet Tubman

The late 1860s carte-de-visite comes from fellow abolitionist Emily Howland's album

Spring in the gardens.

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

It was a pivotal moment in computing history when a computer beat a human at chess for the first time, but that doesn't mean chess is "solved."

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

When Charles Sumner spoke out against slavery in 1856, he incurred the violent wrath of congressman Preston Brooks.

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

An unidentified player takes a putt at the original "Tom Thumb Golf" built by Garnet Carter.

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?

This is the 517th Xerox model 917 ever made, donated to the Smithsonian in 1985.

Watch the Original 1959 Ad for the First Office-Ready Xerox Machine

When the Xerox 914 entered offices, the working world changed forever

The crew of Skylab 4 in August 1973. From left to right: astronaut Gerald Carr, who commanded the mission; scientist-astronaut Edward Gibson; astronaut William Pogue.

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

Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield

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

This illustration by Helen Sewell graced one of the original editions of Little House on the Prairie, published in the 1930s. That book tells of the period in the Ingalls family's lives in which they settled in Kansas on land that still belonged to Native Americans.

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

At the height of their popularity in the 1950s, children's coonskin caps like this one from the Smithsonian collections, sold at the rate of 5,000 per day.

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

There are many hurdles to building the proposed border wall. And skimping on any steps means that "big, beautiful" wall won't stand for long.

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

From left: Roger White, curator; John Gray, director, Rose Miller, Leonard W. Miller, Jane Rogers, curator and Leonard T. Miller

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

This engraving of the 'Titanic' sinking was made shortly after the event happened, when the world was still reeling from the massive loss of life.

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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