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American History

Honor Martin Luther King, Jr. this weekend

Weekend Events January 13-15: Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday, To the Mountaintop and Native Dance

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The Civil War

How Newspapers Reported the Civil War

A collection of historic front pages shows how civilians experienced and read about the war

Morse's 1837 telegraph receiver prototype, built with a canvas-stretcher

How Samuel Morse Got His Big Idea

On this day in 1838, Samuel Morse publicly demonstrated his telegraph for the first time. But how did he get the idea in the first place?

Come make your own stamp collection at a drop-in workshop at the Postal Museum.

Weekend Events Jan 6-8: “This is Not a Film,” Stamps, Masterworks of Three Centuries

This weekend, watch an Iranian film, attend a stamp collecting workshop or listen to eclectic Baroque chamber music

Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home in Memphis, has been kept largely as it was when he lived there, from 1957 until his death in 1977. Dining room mirrors reflect a stairway to the private quarters.

Annie Leibovitz’s American Pilgrimage

In a new book and exhibition, the esteemed photographer pursues a passion for history and lets us see familiar icons in a fresh light

According to author John M. Barry, Roger Williams, center, had a great facility with language—a great curiosity for language—and began trading with Indians and trying to learn their language.

John M. Barry on Roger Williams and the Indians

The founder of Rhode Island often helped out the early colonists in their dealings with Native Americans

Come see the ZooLights holiday festival on January 1st

Weekend Events Dec. 30-Jan 1: Treasures at the Museum, Flights of Fancy, and Last Day of ZooLights

This New Year’s weekend, meet a children’s book author and archivist, come to aviation story time, and catch ZooLights before it’s over

Curator Carlene Stephens, on left, and collections manager Shari Stout look at a glass disc containing a sound recording from the 1880s.

From the Collections, Sound Recordings Heard for the First Time

The National Museum of American History recovers sound from recordings that have been silenced for over a century

More than four months before his famous "midnight ride," Paul Revere made a midday gallop to Portsmouth, New Hampshire and some consider that the true starting point of the war for independence.

The Midday Ride of Paul Revere

Longfellow made the patriot’s ride to Lexington legendary, but the story of Revere’s earlier trip to Portsmouth deserves to be retold as well

Herman Hollerith's tabulating machine proved to be pivotal in the history of information technology.

Herman Hollerith’s Tabulating Machine

On this day in 1888, the groundbreaking tabulator machine was installed in a government office for the first time

Secretary of State William Seward, far right, with British Minister Lord Lyons, sitting third from right, and other international diplomats at Trenton Falls in New York.

The Civil War

The Unknown Contributions of Brits in the American Civil War

Historian Amanda Foreman discusses how British citizens took part in the war between the Union and the Confederacy

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Unflinching Portraits of Pearl Harbor Survivors

Seventy years after the day that lives on in infamy, the soldiers stationed at Pearl Harbor recall their experiences

Clarence Darrow, addressing the jury as a defendant, was never convicted of bribery, but his two trials shattered his reputation.

Clarence Darrow: Jury Tamperer?

Newly unearthed documents shed light on claims that the famous criminal attorney bribed a juror

There are several accounts of Confederate and Union troops camped near one another harmonizing "Home, Sweet Home!" across the battle lines.

The Sentimental Ballad of the Civil War

Forget “Dixie,” it was one New Yorker’s “Home Sweet Home” that was the song most beloved by Union and Confederate soldiers

The Monuments That Were Never Built

In a new exhibit at the National Building Museum, imagine Washington D.C. as it could have been

Get a hands-on introduction to forensics as part of the "Written in Bone" exhibition

Events Nov. 21-24: For All the World To See, Forensics Lab, Beyond Blackface and Thanksgiving

This week, get a guided tour of a fascinating exhibit, experiment in an interactive forensics lab, hear from a noted author and celebrate Thanksgiving

Fleming's double-sided watch showed the "Cosmic Time"

Sandford Fleming Sets the World’s Clock

On this day in 1883, the railroads adopted a plan for standardized time zones. It all started when one man missed his train

The "rectal acorn"

The Civil War

Seven Obscure Facts You Didn’t Know About the Civil War

Amid the vast literature of the Civil War, it’s easy to lose sight of some of the stranger facts, coincidences and quirks of character

Five must-read books on Thomas Jefferson from author Marc Leepson.

The Essentials: Five Books on Thomas Jefferson

A Jefferson expert provides a list of indispensable reads about the founding father

Conn's Civil War violin.

The Civil War 150 Years: Solomon Conn’s Violin Diary

A soldier’s violin becomes a record of his war-time travels

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