Articles tagged as American History

Which Great American Should Be Immortalized With the Next Big Broadway Musical?

Hamilton has caught the nation’s attention. A panel of Smithsonian writers and curators suggest who’s next.

July 7, 2016

The cover of Captain America Comics #1, by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby.

Did Steve Rogers grow up in Brooklyn or the Lower East Side?

July 6, 2016

Tankard made in Westerwald, German , found along with lots of tanning debris in a privy
associated with a small house on an alley that probably be
longed to tanner.

Cool Finds

Tens of Thousands of Artifacts Have Been Found in Colonial Philadelphia Toilets

Archaeologists excavating the site of the Museum of the American Revolution found a dozen privy pits full of pottery, printing supplies and animal bones

July 6, 2016

From color to sound, the next-gen fireworks are sure to wow

July 1, 2016

One of the last restrictions on who can serve in the military has been removed

July 1, 2016

A side scan sonar image of the Royal Albert at the bottom of Lake Ontario.

Cool Finds

19th-Century Sunken Schooner Uncovered in Lake Ontario

It’s the only two-masted ship known to have sunk in the area

June 30, 2016

A section of the Historic Route 66 in Seligman, Arizona.

Cool Finds

A New Project Tells the Stories of the Women of Route 66

An oral history project with the National Park Service follows women on the iconic highway

June 30, 2016

The Masonic Lodge in Monrovia, Liberia. Before the civil war, the descents of American slaves who mainly controlled the government often made official decisions at the lodge, which did not allow native members.

These Abandoned Buildings Are the Last Remnants of Liberia’s Founding History

The world created by former slaves in Liberia was a cruel paradox for more than 150 years

July 2016

American Exiles: Leaving Home

A series of three photo essays explores how America has treated its own people in times of crisis

July 2016

Some Native children were sent thousands of miles away. Others, like Oreos Eriacho, were housed closer to home, in now-decaying dorms like this one, in Ramah, N.M.

For More Than 100 Years, the U.S. Forced Navajo Students Into Western Schools. The Damage Is Still Felt Today

Photographer Daniella Zalcman explores how native populations had a new nation foisted upon them

July 2016

Cool Finds

“Water Windfall” Discovered Under California’s Drought-Stricken Central Valley

Though the aquifer could help with the current and future droughts, researchers caution getting too greedy with the resource

June 28, 2016

Cool Finds

Researchers Studying “Teen Sex” and Flesh-Eating Maggots Win 2016 Golden Goose Awards

Both quirky and important, these studies went against the grain

June 27, 2016

Cool Finds

Commemorate the Panama Canal’s Expansion With These Photos From Its Construction

The Panama Canal is opening a third lane to accommodate new mega cargo ships, a feat almost—but not quite—as impressive as building the original

June 24, 2016

By Augustus Koch (1840–?) - Amon Carter Museum Texas Bird's-Eye Views [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9140425

Cool Finds

Solving a Neighborhood Mystery Reveals Forgotten African-American History

An abandoned lot in San Antonio turned out to be an important part of the city’s story

June 24, 2016

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

June 23, 2016

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

June 23, 2016

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

June 22, 2016

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.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

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

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

June 16, 2016

New Research

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

June 16, 2016

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

June 16, 2016