American History

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

An ad looking for a woman named Fanny who escaped along with her daughter. The 7-year-old girl is described as a mulatto, which could suggest she is the daughter of the slaveowner seeking them out.

An Archive of Fugitive Slave Ads Sheds New Light on Lost Histories

Wanted ads posted by slave owners reveal details of life under slavery

Meet the First and Only Foreign-Born First Lady: Louisa Catherine Adams

Almost 200 years ago, the wife of John Quincy Adams set a precedent

A trowel placed in a Native American oyster midden that dates to about 1,000 years ago shows the relative size of the shells. The average size of modern oysters is significantly smaller.

How Big Were Oysters in the Chesapeake Before Colonization?

A new multidisciplinary study reveals that yes, oysters were larger and more plentiful before European contact

Five of the Most Iconic State Sandwiches

Choosing a state sandwich is hard work

A life-sized bronze statue of Alexander Hamilton by sculptor Kim Crowley will be on display during the "Summer of Hamilton."

Get Ready for the “Summer of Hamilton”

A new exhibition at the New-York Historical Society focuses on the "$10 Founding Father"

The Liberty Tree in colonial-era Boston

The Story Behind a Forgotten Symbol of the American Revolution: The Liberty Tree

While Boston landmarks like the Old North Church still stand, the Liberty Tree, gone for nearly 250 years, has been lost to history

Neil Puckett, a Texas A&M University graduate student, surfaces with the limb bone of a juvenile mastodon.

Underwater Finds Reveal Humans’ Long Presence in North America

Stone tools and mastodon remains help show that the Americas were peopled more than 14,000 years ago

The bombing site as seen from above.

During the Cold War, the Air Force Dropped an Unarmed Nuke on South Carolina

Amazingly, none of the Gregg family of Mars Bluff were seriously hurt, not even the cat

A portrait photograph of Victoria Woodhull.

Victoria Woodhull Ran for President Before Women Had the Right to Vote

Her 1872 campaign platform focused on women’s rights and sexual freedom

The Bison Is Now the Official Mammal of the United States

The big beasts are the first official mammals recognized by the federal government

Lee Harvey Oswald, center, handing out fliers. According to a conspiracy theory floated by the National Enquirer, the unidentified man on the left wearing a black tie is the father of Senator Ted Cruz.

A Brief History of Lee Harvey Oswald's Connection to Cuba

For over 50 years, conspiracy theorists have linked JFK’s assassin to Fidel Castro’s Cuba

The history behind America's five-cent coin

A Brief History of the Nickel

In honor of the coin’s 150th anniversary, read up on how the nickel came to be minted

Print of Harriet Tubman

The Priceless Impact Harriet Tubman Will Have as the Face of the $20 Bill

Curator Nancy Bercaw from the African American History Museum discusses the freedom fighter's ongoing legacy

It's Official: Harriet Tubman Will Grace the $20 Bill

The famed Underground Railroad Conductor will appear on the front of the $20 bill, among other changes to U.S. currency

Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles and Everett Sloane in the offices of Kane’s Inquirer.

Who Really Wrote "Citizen Kane"?

Two new books offer divergent theories on the authorship of the much-heralded film

In 1781, Arnold ordered British troops to burn New London, Connecticut.

Why Benedict Arnold Turned Traitor Against the American Revolution

The story behind the most famous betrayal in U.S. history shows the complicated politics of the nation's earliest days

Illustration of the New York slave market.

The New York Slave Revolt of 1712 Was a Bloody Prelude to Decades of Hardship

304 years ago today, a group of black slaves rose up against white colonists in New York

After 36 Years, Archivists Finally Found the Wright Brothers’ Airplane Patent

The missing patent was found safe and sound in a Kansas storage facility

Archaeologists digging at Point Rosee.

Archaeologists Spy New Viking Settlement From Space

Space archaeologists think they may have found a second Viking colony in the Americas

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