American History

Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, circa 1787.

Why Elizabeth Hamilton Is Deserving of a Musical of Her Own

How the founding father’s wife kept their love alive in the face of tragedy

Hamilton Hall at Columbia University

Where to Go in New York When You Can’t Get Tickets to "Hamilton"

Fans of "Hamilton" can check out these historic sites

On his property, Jones County’s J. R. Gavin points out a site that was a hide-out for Newt Knight. “The Confederates kept sending in troops to wipe out old Newt and his boys,” says Gavin, “but they’d just melt into the swamps.”

The True Story of the ‘Free State of Jones’

A new Hollywood movie looks at the tale of the Mississippi farmer who led a revolt against the Confederacy

Onlookers crowd King Street in Alexandria, recently named America's most romantic city.

What's America's Most Romantic City?

A new Amazon.com list finds true love in Alexandria, Virginia

Theodore Roosevelt with his four sons

The First Children Who Led Sad Lives

Several children of presidents met cruel fates in the first 150 years of our country's history

Comb Through This Framed Collection of Presidential Hair

The Smithsonian keeps a most unusual artifact of hair clipped straight from the heads of presidents

The Peacekeeper missile was the most powerful weapon in the U.S. military's arsenal until its decommissioning in 2005. This photo is of a test launch in California in 1983.

Wyoming Is Turning a Former Cold War Nuclear Missile Site Into a Tourist Attraction

The U.S. Air Force is working to recreate a Cold War stronghold

A 1950s Mountain Dew ad as photographed in Jakes Corner, Arizona

Mountain Dew Once Had Ties to Moonshine

The original soda named Mountain Dew was supposed to be a whiskey accompaniment

A trumpet recovered from the USS Houston undergoes treatment at the Naval History and Heritage Command's Underwater Archaeology Branch laboratory on the Washington Navy Yard, Dec. 31, 2013.

A Trumpet Retrieved From a World War II Shipwreck Could Still Hold Its Owner’s DNA

Conservators are trying to identify the sailor who once played it

Students pledged to speak only Latin, Greek or Hebrew in each other's company in this 1712 note.

Read About Drama, Politics, Breakfast in These Newly Digitized Colonial Documents

An ambitious Harvard University project brings history to life, archiving nearly half a million documents online

44 Years Ago, Shirley Chisholm Became the First Black Woman to Run For President

Chisholm saw her campaign as a necessary "catalyst for change"

The First Person of Native American Descent Was Elected to the U.S. Senate 109 Years Ago Today

Charles Curtis, who would go on to become Herbert Hoover's vice president, left behind a problematic legacy

An engraving showing the Pequot War

Colonial America Depended on the Enslavement of Indigenous People

The role of enslaving Native Americans in early American history is often overlooked

12 Secrets of New York's Central Park

Learn some little-known facts about this NYC landmark

After Nearly 50 Years, Niagara Falls Might Soon Run Dry Again

Repairing a set of 115-year-old bridges may require shutting off the rush of water that usually flows over the falls

Nellie Bly in a photo dated soon after her return from her trip around the world.

Nellie Bly's Record-Breaking Trip Around the World Was, to Her Surprise, A Race

In 1889, the intrepid journalist under took her voyage, mainly by steamship and train, unknowingly competing against a reporter from a rival publication

Jesse J. Holland's book, "The Invisibles: The Untold Story of African American Slaves in the White House" offers new insight into lives of these men and women who lived in bondage in the White House.

The Slaves of the White House Finally Get to Have Their Stories Told

Long ignored by historians, the enslaved people of the White House are coming into focus through a new book by Jesse J. Holland

Three F-14 Tomcats fly in a tight formation over the Red Sea during Operation Desert Storm. The F-14s primary function was to intercept multiple airborne threats in all weather conditions and at night.

Operation Desert Storm Was Not Won By Smart Weaponry Alone

Despite the "science fiction"-like technology deployed, 90 percent of ammunitions used in Desert Storm were actually “dumb weapons"

A Chicago rally of the Ku Klux Klan in the early 1920s

The Ku Klux Klan Didn’t Always Wear Hoods

The white hood and robe is just the most popular of a variety of costumes used by the hate group

A trial at the Destrehan Plantation sentenced 45 men from the uprising to death or to go to New Orleans for future trials.

How a Nearly Successful Slave Revolt Was Intentionally Lost to History

More than 500 slaves fought for their freedom in this oft-overlooked rebellion

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