Untold Stories of American History
A Confederate Raider Fired the Final Shots of the Civil War in the Arctic, Two and a Half Months After Robert E. Lee Surrendered
The CSS “Shenandoah” only learned of the Confederacy’s defeat in the summer of 1865. That June, the cruiser’s crew sank 24 American merchant vessels, unaware that the conflict had already ended
The 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2025
From a barbecue capital in Texas to the site of the first offensive victory for American forces in the Revolutionary War in New York, these spots are worthy of a visit this year
Last Surviving Grandson of President John Tyler, Who Took Office in 1841, Dies at 96
When Harrison Ruffin Tyler’s grandfather was born 235 years ago in 1790, George Washington had just become the nation’s first president
Abraham Lincoln’s Blood-Stained Gloves, Early Scribblings and Dozens of Other Belongings Are Going Up for Sale
Nearly 150 pieces of Lincolniana from throughout the 16th president’s life will be hitting the auction block in Chicago on May 21
The Nation’s First Black Female Doctor Blazed a Path for Women in Medicine. But She Was Left Out of the Story for Decades
After earning a medical degree in 1864, Rebecca Lee Crumpler died in obscurity and was buried without a headstone
Intern Finds Only Known Surviving Copy of ‘The Heart of Lincoln,’ a Silent Film Thought to Be Lost to History
Released in 1915, the film was directed by Francis Ford, the brother of famed filmmaker John Ford. It had been listed in a record of 7,200 silent films classified as “lost”
Untold Stories of American History
After Confederate Forces Captured Their Children, These Black Mothers Fought to Reunite Their Families
During the Civil War, Confederates targeted free Black people in the North, kidnapping them to sell into slavery. After the conflict ended, two women sought help from high places to track down their lost loved ones
General Sherman Offered Savannah as a ‘Christmas Gift’ to President Lincoln. The Victory Signaled the End of His Brutal March to the Sea
Unlike much of Georgia, the historic port city was preserved from Sherman’s wrath, but suffered psychological terror nonetheless
Archaeologists Discover Lost Burial Site of Enslaved People on President Andrew Jackson’s Tennessee Plantation
An estimated 28 probable graves were identified at the seventh American president’s former property, called the Hermitage
Why Union General Ulysses S. Grant Issued an Order to Expel Jews From Certain Confederate States During the Civil War
An attempt to cut down on the illegal cotton trade, Grant’s decision, announced on this day in 1862, was immensely controversial and hounded him for years
How ‘Blackbirders’ Forced Tens of Thousands of Pacific Islanders Into Slavery After the Civil War
The decline of the American South’s cotton and sugar industries paved the way for plantations in British-controlled Fiji and Australia, where victims of “blackbirding” endured horrific working conditions
The Shocking Moment When a Group of Confederate Spies Plotted—and Failed—to Burn Down New York City
Southern operatives tried to light New York businesses on fire and bring the Northern city to its knees on this date in 1864
Abraham Lincoln’s Legendary Gettysburg Address Promised ‘Government of the People, by the People, for the People’
The president’s humble speech, delivered on this day in 1863, was filled with profound reverence for the Union’s ideals—and the men who died fighting for them
When White Supremacists Staged the Only Successful Coup in U.S. History
The 1898 Wilmington massacre left dozens of Black North Carolinians dead. Conspirators also forced the city’s multiracial government to resign at gunpoint
These Black Americans Were Killed for Exercising Their Political Right to Vote
In the Jim Crow South, activists became martyrs at the hands of white racists, all for the just cause of using the vote to fight for equality and freedom
This 19th-Century ‘Toy Book’ Used Science to Prove That Ghosts Were Simply an Illusion
“Spectropia” demystified the techniques used by mediums who claimed they could speak to the dead, revealing the “absurd follies of Spiritualism”
Untold Stories of American History
He Escaped Slavery and Became a Civil War Hero. Now, Robert Smalls Is Getting a Statue in South Carolina
A special committee has until January 15 to finalize the design, location and funding for a monument that will be erected on the lawn of the South Carolina State House
What the Long History of Mail-In Voting in the U.S. Reveals About the Election Process
A recent exhibition shows how soldiers sent in votes during the Civil War and World War II, as many Americans would in 2020 following the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic
Inside Disney’s Controversial Plan to Open a Theme Park Inspired by American History
In the early 1990s, historians and the public alike questioned how Disney’s America would accurately and sensitively document the nation’s thorny past
Explore Abraham Lincoln’s Life and Legacy Through Rare Copies of Historic Books and Documents
A new exhibition in New York City uses more than 200 texts and artifacts to contemplate Lincoln’s rise to the nation’s highest office
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