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American History

Members of Chamorro organizations, including the children from the Hurao Cultural Camp, perform a burial ceremony.

A Brief, 500-Year History of Guam

The Chamorro people of this Pacific island have long been buffeted by the crosswinds of foreign nations

Thanks to Disney, this story is so ubiquitous that 'Bambi' is a common shorthand for 'baby deer.'

If You Think ‘Bambi’ Seems Too Mature For Kids, You’re Not Wrong

The popular novel was even a Book-of-the-Month Club selection

Florence Harding put up with a lot during her life, including Warren G. Harding's constant philandering.

Florence Harding, Not Eleanor Roosevelt, May Have Created the Modern First Lady

She did things her own way, and helped to set a precedent for the First Ladies who followed her

Benjamin Lay said he was “illiterate,” but his antislavery arguments were erudite. This portrait, commissioned by Lay’s friend Benjamin Franklin, shows him with a book.

Secrets of American History

The “Quaker Comet” Was the Greatest Abolitionist You’ve Never Heard Of

Overlooked by historians, Benjamin Lay was one of the nation’s first radicals to argue for an end to slavery

Why Eleanor Roosevelt Visited Active War Zones During WWII

Eleanor Roosevelt’s war time travels to support U.S. soldiers were considerable: in the Pacific theater, she would meet with 400,000 troops

Winston Churchill and FDR aboard the HMS 'Prince of Wales,' Churchill's ship, when the Atlantic Charter was released.

Months Before Pearl Harbor, Churchill and Roosevelt Held a Secret Meeting of Alliance

The two leaders met in a warship off the coast of northern Canada to talk strategy

The Fuzzy History of the Georgia Peach

Once a feral resource for planters, the stone fruit got a marketing makeover in the late 19th century—and a boost from the segregated labor market

Casey stands at bat in a 1912 illustrated version of the poem.

‘Casey at the Bat’ Leaves a Lot of Unanswered Questions

Was there a Casey? Where did he strike out? Does it really matter?

The Devastating 1926 Hurricane that Halted the Growth of Miami

In 1926, the Miami economy was soaring, fueled by wealthy northerners attracted to the tropical climate and beaches

Almost since ballooning was invented, people were talking about trans-Atlantic crossings, but it took until 1978 for a crossing to be successful.

A Brief History of Trans-Atlantic Balloon Crossings

Fifteenth time’s the charm, evidently

Alcatraz Island as it looks today.

Alcatraz Wasn’t Always ‘Uncle Sam’s Devil’s Island’

Though it was a prison for more than a century, it didn’t become the famous maximum-security penitentiary until 1934

Bomb Threats Didn’t Stop Lady Bird’s Fight for Civil Rights

Lady Bird Johnson was a committed supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, in word and deed, touring the country to speak against racism

Charles Lindbergh and the Rise of 1940s Nazi Sympathizers

Charles Lindbergh may have been known as a legendary pilot, but he had another, more sinister position in American History: as a Nazi sympathizer

How Betty Ford’s Surprising Progressivism Inspired Millions

Despite being thrust into the role of first lady with no warning, Betty Ford will be remembered as one of the most independent first ladies we’ve ever had

One of the cats involved in the Acoustic Kitty Project was a grey-and-white female.

The CIA Experimented On Animals in the 1960s Too. Just Ask ‘Acoustic Kitty’

Turns out that cats really don’t take direction well

The Sabino sailing into port in 2005. The steamboat still carries museum-goers on tours of the Mystic River.

America’s Oldest Coal-Powered Steamboat Chugs Along

After a two-year restoration, the 109-year-old Sabino is ready to sail for many years to come

William Maples holds a bone fragment during a presentation about the Romanov Investigations, circa 1992.

William R. Maples Popularized Forensic Anthropology Long Before CSI

Maples worked on a number of high-profile cases that helped to bring the field of forensic anthropology to prominence

Using stiff collars to help a guide dog user communicate with their dog has been around since the 1800s.

The Cuddly Tail of Guide Dogs

Dogs have been assisting blind humans for a very long time, but the arrangement only became formal recently

Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family, the first two commercially popular country music acts, got their national start at the Bristol Sessions.

How the Bristol Sessions Created Country Music

Ninety years ago, a yodeller named Jimmie Rodgers laid down two of the tracks he would be remembered for

Alexander Graham Bell used the money from his telephone patent to fund Volta Laboratories, which later became Bell Laboratories.

Telephones Were Silenced for One Minute After Alexander Graham Bell Died

By the time Bell died, he had moved on to other inventions. But the telephone made a huge mark on American society

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