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American Presidents

Warren Harding and First Lady Florence Harding watching a horse show the year he became president.

Commentary

Warren Harding Tried to Return America to ‘Normalcy’ After WWI and the 1918 Pandemic. It Failed.

The lessons from his presidency show that a quick retreat to the past can be just a mirage

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 on Liberty Island in New York Harbor.

The 1924 Law That Slammed the Door on Immigrants and the Politicians Who Pushed it Back Open

Decades of xenophobic policy were overturned, setting the United States on the path to the diversity seen today

This week's selections include Enemy of All Mankind, Who Ate the First Oyster? and Daughter of the Boycott.

Books of the Month

A Notorious 17th-Century Pirate, the Many Lives of the Louvre and Other New Books to Read

The seventh installment in our weekly series spotlights titles that may have been lost in the news amid the COVID-19 crisis

Anti-war demonstrators at Kent State University run as National Guardsmen fire tear gas and bullets into the crowd.

History of Now

How 13 Seconds Changed Kent State University Forever

The institution took decades to come to grips with the trauma of the killing of four students 50 years ago

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Virtual Travel

Explore Washington, D.C. From Home With This Free, Smithsonian Scholar-Led Tour

Narrated by Smithsonian Distinguished Scholar Richard Kurin, the 24-part video series blends history with modern mainstays

Eugene V. Debs was in a West Virginia penitentiary when he lost the 1920 presidential election.

Has Anyone Ever Run for President While in Prison? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

"Washington and His Cabinet" lithograph by Currier & Ives

The President’s Cabinet Was an Invention of America’s First President

A new book explores how George Washington shaped the group of advisors as an institution to meet his own needs

The list includes The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President's Black Family and The War Queens: Extraordinary Women Who Ruled the Battlefield.

Books of the Month

Five New Nonfiction Books to Read While You’re Stuck at Home

We’re highlighting newly released titles may have been lost in the news as the nation endures the coronavirus pandemic

Charles Lindbergh, Walter Winchell and Franklin D. Roosevelt (L to R) are among the public figures fictionalized in Philip Roth's The Plot Against America.

Based on a True Story

The True History Behind ‘The Plot Against America’

Philip Roth’s classic novel, newly adapted by HBO, envisions a world in which Charles Lindbergh wins the 1940 presidential election

Clarence Barnes and Craig Wade with the banner in the Wade family home.

How Two 1950s Kids Playing on the Railroad Tracks Found a National Treasure

Curators at the National Museum of American History talked to the brothers who found a relic of the 1800 Adams and Jefferson election

Washington, who tended to favor surprisingly silly names for his animals—his dogs answered to Sweetlips, Drunkard and Madame Moose—went literal when it came to the mule, who he called Royal Gift.

George Washington Saw a Future for America: Mules

A newly minted celebrity to the world, the future president used his position to procure his preferred beast of burden from the king of Spain

A place of mourning was probably not what Congress had in mind when they established the National Portrait Gallery in 1962, but perhaps they would not be surprised that this is partly what they got.

How One Museum Helps the Nation Mourn

When prominent Americans like Kobe Bryant die, mourners flock to the National Portrait Gallery in search of solace

The Landsdowne portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart

A New Book About George Washington Breaks All the Rules on How to Write About George Washington

Alexis Coe’s cheeky biography of the first president pulls no punches

The stretcher bullet (mostly intact) and two fragments of the bullet that fatally wounded Kennedy, as seen from multiple perspectives

Bullets That Killed John F. Kennedy Immortalized as Digital Replicas

The originals remain at the National Archives, but new 3-D scans showcase the ballistics in vivid detail

First Lady Grace Coolidge and Rebecca, the raccoon she and her family kept as a pet

Raccoon Was Once a Thanksgiving Feast Fit for a President

Calvin Coolidge refused to cook the raccoon sent to him, but the critter was a beloved staple for many Americans

Artist Amy Sherald, photographed at the Hauser & Wirth gallery in New York City.

American Ingenuity Awards

How Amy Sherald’s Revelatory Portraits Challenge Expectations

The artist who garnered fame at the Smithsonian and then painted the official portrait of Michelle Obama brings her unique style to ordinary people

Detail of portrait of President James Buchanan by artist George Peter Alexander Healy

The 175-Year History of Speculating About President James Buchanan’s Bachelorhood

Was his close friendship with William Rufus King just that, or was it evidence that he was the nation’s first gay chief executive?

Trending Today

South Dakota’s City of Presidents Unveils Obama Statue

The new life-size bronze depicts the 44th president waving to the crowd and holding his daughter Sasha’s hand

The Cooper beech tree during its removal at Sagamore Hill.

A Copper Beech Tree Planted by Theodore Roosevelt Is Being Cut Down

But it will not disappear from Sagamore Hill, the president’s beloved family estate

The hand-tooled leather cover

A Bible Owned by Lincoln, Unknown to Historians for 150 Years, Goes on Display

The relic offers a new opportunity to reflect on Lincoln’s religious beliefs

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