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American History

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The Coolest Straw I Ever Saw at American History

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Events for the Week of 11/2-6: Dorothea Lange, John Singer Sargent, Zoo Photography Club and More!

"My memories of Worthington are ... colored by what went on with my father," says Tim O'Brien.

From Brooklyn to Worthington, Minnesota

Novelist Tim O’Brien revisits his past to come to terms with his rural hometown

Starting in 1864, Arlington National Cemetery was transformed into a military cemetery.

How Arlington National Cemetery Came to Be

The fight over Robert E. Lee’s beloved home—seized by the U.S. government during the Civil War—went on for decades

Phineas Staunton paid homage to his subject, Henry Clay, in an 11-by7-foot canvas.

The Rescue of Henry Clay

A long-lost painting of the Senate’s Great Compromiser finds a fitting new home in the halls of the U.S. Capitol

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Weekend Events: Judy Garland, Occult Literature and Day of the Dead

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The World Series Plays on in New York, Philly, and…Washington?

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Events for the Week of October 26-30: Halloween, Judy Garland, Architectural Tours and More!

Robert M. Poole has written for National Geographic, Preservation, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Smithsonian.

Robert M. Poole on “The Battle of Arlington”

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Congressman Sam Johnson Receives National Patriot Award

Controversy over Meriwether Lewis' death has descendants and scholars campaigning to exhume his body at his grave site in Tennessee.

Meriwether Lewis’ Mysterious Death

Two hundred years later, debate continues over whether the famous explorer committed suicide or was murdered

John Brown and many of his followers holed up in the fire engine house awaiting reinforcements by a swarm of "bees"—slaves from the surrounding area. But only a handful showed up.

John Brown’s Day of Reckoning

The abolitionist’s bloody raid on a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry 150 years ago set the stage for the Civil War

Christopher Columbus carried ideas that boded ill for Indies natives.

Columbus’ Confusion About the New World

The European discovery of America opened possibilities for those with eyes to see. But Columbus was not one of them

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Smithsonian Events for the Week of 9/28-10/2: Climate Change, Cheetahs, Tito Puente and Reading About Africa

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Weekend Events: Artists’ Roundtable Talk, Martin Schoeller and Poetry Readings

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Lion King Artifacts Join Smithsonian’s Circle of Life

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Twenty-Six New Citizens Naturalized at the American History Museum

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American History Museum Explores the Era of the Bracero

From 1942 through 1945, more than 400,000 Axis prisoners were shipped to the United States and detained in camps in rural areas across the country.

German POWs on the American Homefront

Thousands of World War II prisoners ended up in mills, farm fields and even dining rooms across the United States

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Smithsonian Events September 14-18: Julia Child, Prince Edward, the Global Arts Scene and More!

Exclusive events highlights from around the Smithsonian

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