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American History

Chief Justice Warren Burger swears in Gerald R. Ford as the 38th president in 1974.

The Pardon

President Gerald R. Ford’s priority was to unite a divided nation. The decision that defined his term proved how difficult that would be

Artifacts unearthed on Ossabaw Island offer insights into the lives of slaves.

Sea Island Strata

At a former Georgia plantation, archaeologists delve into both the workaday and spiritual lives of slaves

New Faces of 1946

An unpopular president. A war-weary people. In the midterm elections of 60 years ago, voters took aim at incumbents

The Pilgrims celebrated a harvest festival with their Native American neighbors in 1621—what we often call the first Thanksgiving.

Pilgrims’ Progress

We retrace the travels of the ragtag group that founded Plymouth Colony and gave us Thanksgiving

John F. Kennedy on the campaign trail in 1960

Sharp Pencils Shape Elections

How three pioneering reporters reshaped the way the press covers elections-and politics itself

The roots of the women's suffrage movement can be located here: in Seneca Falls, the home of Elizabeth Cady Stanton (seated, with Susan B. Anthony) is a historic landmark. Of the right to vote, Stanton declared: "Have it we must."

How New York’s Finger Lakes Inspired American Notables

New York’s breathtaking Finger Lakes district has influenced historical figures from Mark Twain to Harriet Tubman

A rendering of the completed One World Trade Center

Five Years Later

Tourists flock to the World Trade Center site, but for New Yorkers, 9/11 is history

Beth Claypool, a Navy parachute rigger, holds a key find from the Laotian dig, the remains of a metal insole believed to be Bat Masterson's.

Lost Over Laos

Scientists and soldiers combine forensics and archaeology to search for pilot Bat Masterson, one of 88,000 Americans missing in action from recent wars

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Heck of a Story

A poignant homecoming launches a harrowing quest

On March 25, 1911, 146 workers perished when a fire broke out in a garment factory in New York City. For 90 years, it stood as New York's deadliest workplace disaster.

Uncovering the History of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

The author behind the authoritative retelling of the 1911 fire describes how he researched the tragedy that killed 146 people

Scourges of the sea: Dashing Jean Laffite (left) and his swashbuckling brother Alexandre, although a study in contrasts, were equally intrepid.

Saving New Orleans

In a new book, the author of “Forrest Gump” paints an uncommonly vivid picture of an overlooked chapter in American history and its unlikely hero

The last piece of the building's makeover, a $50 million glass roof over the courtyard by British architect Norman Foster is scheduled for completion in late 2007.

Back To The Future

One of Washington’s most exuberant monuments—the old Patent Office Building —gets the renovation it deserves

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Joe Robinson, Vacation Advocate, Santa Monica, Calif.

His prescription for overworked Americans: chill

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For Studs Terkel, Chicago Was a City Called Heaven

Studs Terkel, America’s best-known oral historian, never wavered in his devotion to the Windy City

Allen Street in Tombstone, Arizona.

Tombstone

In this Arizona outpost, residents revere the Wild West—and live it

Across the region, sprawl and traffic threaten sites spanning the American Revolution to the Civil War. Here, says activist Wyatt, "history is in plain sight."

Hallowed Highway

From Gettysburg to Monticello, a 175 mile thoroughfare leads through a rich concentration of national history

Soldiers at the siege of Yorktown

Dirty Little Secret

To see the Revolutionary war through the eyes of slaves is to better understand why so many of them fought for the crown

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Home Is the Sailor

One hundred years ago this month, John Paul Jones was welcomed home with great fanfare at the U.S. Naval Academy. But was the body really his?

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Stars and Strife

A clash of cultures at Boston’s City Hall in 1976 symbolized the city’s years-long confrontation with the busing of schoolchildren

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Review of ‘The Worst Hard Time’

The untold story of those who survived the great American Dust Bowl

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