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American History

Theodore Roosevelt giving a campaign speech.

1912 Republican Convention

Return of the Rough Rider

Red, white and bruising: at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, conflicts within the hall were amplified in violence on Chicago’s streets.

Parties to History

Four Political Conventions That Changed America

The DefendantsNathan Leopold (left) and his lover Richard Loeb confessed that they had kidnapped and murdered Bobby Franks solely for the thrill of the experience.

Leopold and Loeb’s Criminal Minds

In defense of murderers Leopold and Loeb, attorney Clarence Darrow thwarted a nation’s call for vengeance

Frederick Douglass

Conventional Facts

Delegates to the Republican National Convention stage a huge demonstration for Senator Barry Goldwater, after his name was placed in nomination for the Presidency.

How the 1964 Republican Convention Sparked a Revolution From the Right

At the ugliest of Republican conventions since 1912, entrenched moderates faced off against conservative insurgents

Believe it: “The X-Files” are at the Smithsonian

“Everybody needs beauty... places to play and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike,” wrote Muir (c. 1902).

John Muir’s Yosemite

The father of the conservation movement found his calling on a visit to the California wilderness

French and Indian War: "The Night Council at Fort Necessity." Ilustration

The First “Teflon” Hero

What July 4th, 1754 reveals about George Washington’s survival skills

Katrina Browne and a Ghanaian child on the ramparts of Cape Coast Castle slave fort.

A Northern Family Confronts Its Slaveholding Past

Filmmaker Katrina Browne discusses her family’s role in American slavery

On her final day as first lady, Betty Ford told Kennerly her idea for the Cabinet Room table.

Betty Ford’s Tabled Resolution

Betty Ford had a what-the-hell moment—and an accomplice in photographer David Hume Kennerly

A Mormon encampment in Provo, 1858

The Brink of War

One hundred fifty years ago, the U.S. Army marched into Utah prepared to battle Brigham Young and his Mormon militia

President Theodore Roosevelt commissioned the double eagle in 1905. He later pronounced the gold piece to be “the best coin that has been struck for 2,000 years.”

Golden Grail

Few U.S. coins are rarer than the never circulated 1933 double eagle, melted down after the nation dropped the gold standard

Fort Matanzas, about fifty feet long on each side, was constructed of coquina, a local stone formed from clam shells and quarried from a nearby island.

America’s First True “Pilgrims”

An excerpt from Kenneth C. Davis’s new book explains they arrived half a century before the Mayflower reached Plymouth Rock

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Goodbye, Columbus

A new survey upends the conventional wisdom about who counts in American history

View of the National Mall

Washington, D.C.

A Brief History of Pierre L’Enfant and Washington, D.C.

How one Frenchman’s vision became our capital city

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Celluloid Cynicism

The Smithsonian American Art Museum’s film noir series commenced last Wednesday with Billy Wilder’ s pitch-perfect 1950 Hollywood satire, Sunset Boulevard

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Stephen Colbert Declared A National Treasure

An attempt to buy a gift launched Dean Thomas, left, and his brother Jim (at the Gettysburg Battlefield) on the trail of purloined letters.

The Civil War

To Catch a Thief

How a Civil War buff’s chance discovery led to a sting, a raid and a victory against traffickers in stolen historical documents

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The Unmaking of the President

Lyndon Johnson believed that his withdrawal from the 1968 presidential campaign would free him to solidify his legacy

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“Those Aren’t Rumors”

Two decades ago an anonymous telephone call sank Gary Hart’s presidential campaign—and rewrote the rules of political reporting

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