American History

After 52 Years, the "Mississippi Burning" Case Closes

The Department of Justice and State of Mississippi close the investigation of three civil rights workers killed by KKK members in 1964

The Marines Have Confirmed That One of the Men in the Iconic Iwo Jima Photo Has Been Misidentified for 71 Years

Pvt. 1st Class Harold Schultz never publicly spoke about his role during his life

Hal Rumel, Red Canyon, near Entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, ca. 1940

How Photography Shaped America's National Parks

Jamie M. Allen explores how conservation and consumerism have impacted America's natural heritage

Imagine a meta-memorial of the National Parks that projects high-definition video and recordings in metro stations, examining the role of wilderness in times of social inequality and ecological change.

What Will Future Monuments in the Nation's Capital Look Like?

Changing times and tastes leave little room for monolithic marble on the Mall

The 'Andrea Doria' in its last hours

New Footage Shows Rapid Breakdown of Shipwreck 'Andrea Doria'

Researchers visited the remains of the Italian luxury liner in a submersible to figure out how quickly wrecks deteriorate

An exterior rendering of the museum, set to open in April 2017.

A New Museum Is Bringing Relics of the Revolutionary War Into Public View for the First Time in Decades

Scheduled to open next year in Philadelphia, the museum will immerse visitors into the time when the American colonies became the United States

Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon and the son of a Cuban refugee, was awarded the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal at a U.S. Naturalization Ceremony at the Smithsonian.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos Honored at Citizenship Ceremony

The Smithsonian awarded the internet mogul during a ceremony welcoming newly naturalized citizens

This pesky pest has a tendency to alter world history.

How the Lowly Mosquito Helped America Win Independence

The blood-sucking insect has played a leading role in the rise and fall of empires throughout history

The Complicated History Between the Press and the Presidency

Banning a newspaper like the 'Post' is a move that wouldn't fly even in the Nixon White House

Alewives returning to spawn in Wynants Kill

Herring Spawn in Hudson River Tributary for the First Time in 85 Years

River herring are spawning in Wynants Kill tributary after one of the many dams along the Hudson was removed

Scene from All is Lost, a 1923 film identified at the Library of Congress's Mostly Lost Film Festival

The Library of Congress Needs Your Help to Identify These Silent Movies

For the fifth year, the "Mostly Lost" film festival calls on its audience to help identify obscure details in movie-making history

A portrait of Mary Church Terrell in 1946 by Betsy Graves Reyneau

How One Woman Helped End Lunch Counter Segregation in the Nation’s Capital

Mary Church Terrell’s court case demanded the district’s “lost laws” put an end to racial discrimination in dining establishments

Andrew Jackson's official White House portrait by Ralph E.W. Earl.

What the Politics of Andrew Jackson’s Era Can Tell Us About Today

NPR correspondent Steve Inskeep speaks about his book <em>Jacksonland</em> and what it says about America’s democratic tradition

Bison Fossils Offer Clues to Track Human Migration Into the Americas

DNA analysis of bison fossils show that people likely migrated down the Pacific coast and not through the Rocky Mountains

Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover's Hidden Economic Acumen

What an Awful President's Secret Strength Could Teach Today's Financial Leaders About Capitalism

The cover to one of A-No.1's books about his life as a hobo.

After a Century, an Anthropologist Picked up the Trail of the "Hobo King"

One hundred-year-old graffiti by “A-No.1” and others were found by the L.A. River

Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr in "Hamilton"

Before There Was “Hamilton,” There Was “Burr”

Although Gore Vidal’s book never became a hit on Broadway, the novel helped create the public personae of Alexander Hamilton’s nemesis

Associate Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor at the National Museum of American History discusses the dining traditions at the Supreme Court.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor Dig Into the History of Food at the Supreme Court

The American History Museum and the Supreme Court Historical Society brought the justices together to share tales from the highest court

Ronald Reagan signing the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 that apologized for the internment of Japanese American citizens and permanent residents during World War II.

Five Times the United States Officially Apologized

These are a few instances where the U.S. admitted it had done wrong

A close-up of Abraham Lincoln's signature on the Emancipation Proclamation.

Dozens of Rare Documents From American History Just Sold at Auction

Original copies of the 13th Amendment and the Emancipation Proclamation just sold for millions

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