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History of Now

The Whiskey Rebellion

History of Now

The First Presidential Pardon Pitted Alexander Hamilton Against George Washington

How to handle the Whiskey Rebellion was the first major crisis faced by the new government

Carefree, reckless, flappers seemed to enjoy living on the edge, like these atop Chicago’s Sherman Hotel.

History of Now

Flappers Took the Country by Storm, But Did They Ever Truly Go Away

Women of the Roaring Twenties had a lot in common with today’s millennials

Looking at the east frieze of the Confederate Monument at Arlington National Cemtery in Arlington, Virginia, in the United States

History of Now

The Pernicious Myth of the ‘Loyal Slave’ Lives on in Confederate Memorials

Statues don’t need to venerate military leaders of the Civil War to promulgate false narratives

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A Brief History of Eclipse Chasers

They also go by umbraphiles, coronaphiles, eclipsoholics and ecliptomaniacs

While presidents have the power to pardon, their decision to use it isn't always popular. Just look at this anti-Ford button made in response to his pardoning of Richard Nixon.

History of Now

A Brief History of Presidential Pardons

The power bestowed upon the chief executive to excuse past misdeeds has involved a number of famous Americans

The annual swan upping ceremony of the queen's swans on the Thames.

Europe

The Fascinating, Regal History Behind Britain’s Swans

The aristocratic bird’s has a legacy as a luxury status symbol that dates back centuries

Miklós Horthy at the annexation of south-east Czechoslovakia, Kassa (present-day Košice), 11 November 1938

History of Now

Why It Matters That Hungary’s Prime Minister Denounced His Country’s Role in the Holocaust

Is this tonal shift for real — or will the European nation continue to obfuscate its history?

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Where Did the Term “Gerrymander” Come From?

Elbridge Gerry was a powerful voice in the founding of the nation, but today he’s best known for the political practice with an amphibious origin

Otto von Bismarck addressing the Reichstag

History of Now

Bismarck Tried to End Socialism’s Grip—By Offering Government Healthcare

The 1883 law was the first of its kind to institute mandatory, government-monitored health insurance

Despite being largely forgotten today, Lowell Thomas was a pioneering journalist of the 20th century who reshaped news media.

History of Now

The Forgotten Man Who Transformed Journalism in America

Lowell Thomas was the first host of a TV broadcast news program, and adopted a number of other new technologies to make his mark in the 20th century

Vice President-designate Gerald Ford holds up a copy of Evergreen Review, a magazine which Ford described as obscene. One of Ford's charges against Douglas was that he had allowed an article he had written to be published in Evergreen.

History of Now

The History of American Impeachment

There’s a precedent that it’s not just for presidents

Mobster Frank Costello testifying before the Kefauver Committee.

History of Now

How Watching Congressional Hearings Became an American Pastime

Decades before Watergate, mobsters helped turn hearings into must-see television

GIFs began as still images in the early days of the Internet before becoming the animated loops that are seen everywhere now.

History of Now

A Brief History of the GIF, From Early Internet Innovation to Ubiquitous Relic

How an image format changed the way we communicate

Suburban single-family homes in Fresno, California.

History of Now

The Racial Segregation of American Cities Was Anything but Accidental

A housing policy expert explains how federal government policies created the suburbs and the inner city

History of Now

Joe Pyne Was America’s First Shock Jock

Newly discovered tapes resurrect the angry ghost of Joe Pyne, the original outrageous talk show host

John Frankenheimer's classic The Manchurian Candidate built upon the idea of brainwashed GIs in Korea.

History of Now

The True Story of Brainwashing and How It Shaped America

Fears of Communism during the Cold War spurred psychological research, pop culture hits, and unethical experiments in the CIA

Draft of The Balfour Declaration with handwritten notes, 1917

World War I: 100 Years Later

How a Single Paragraph Paved the Way for a Jewish State

The Balfour Declaration changed the course of history with just one sentence

The Bath School bombing in 1927 remains the deadliest school massacre in U.S. history.

History of Now

The 1927 Bombing That Remains America’s Deadliest School Massacre

More than 90 years ago, a school in Bath, Michigan was rigged with explosives in a brutal act that stunned the town

The facade of the U.S. Appraiser's Building on 630 Sansome Street in San Francisco, California

History of Now

A Federal Immigration Building With a Dark Past

In post-war San Francisco, discrimination against Chinese immigrants resulted in tragedy

President Donald Trump, accompanied by Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, speaks on the phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

History of Now

How White House Chiefs of Staff Help Govern

According to Chris Whipple’s new book, an empowered chief of staff can make a successful presidency

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