Articles tagged as Politics | Smithsonian Magazine

One step forward in tackling obesity in America

November 9, 2016

100 years ago, Jeannette Rankin became the first woman elected to Congress

November 7, 2016

Listening to Norman Lear tell his stories is to hear the last 100 years.

Norman Lear Talks Art, Activism and the 2016 Election

For the famed showrunner, TV has always been a chance to make the political personal

October 28, 2016

The presidential mask offers Americans a particularly playful—and anonymous—entrance into political humor.

What’s Behind America’s Obsession With Presidential Masks?

From nose-picking Nixon to Trump-kissing-Clinton, Americans have long imitated their political candidates

October 28, 2016

President Barack Obama and Republican Party nominee Mitt Romney broke bread at the 2012 Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner.

For decades, the Al Smith Dinner has helped Catholic voters dine and decide

October 19, 2016

Bhumibol Adulyadej, also known as King Rama IX of the Chakri Dynasty

Political uncertainty and potential unrest follows the death of the beloved Bhumibol Adulyadej

October 14, 2016

President Lyndon Johnson reviews a speech he will make about the Vietnam War, just weeks before the 1968 election.

The History of the October Surprise

From assiduous editorials to destructive superstorms, the last weeks of presidential elections have seen shocking campaign twists

October 11, 2016

Mohanda Gandhi, center, spent years living in South Africa where he worked as a lawyer.

The civil rights leader’s legacy is complicated

October 10, 2016

Richmond, Virginia, USA, 15th October, 1992, President George H.W. Bush at the Town Hall debates

The History of the Town Hall Debate

Its origins go back to America’s earliest days, but its appearance on the national stage is relatively new

October 6, 2016

U.S. Ambassador to Russia, George F. Kennan, chats with a newsman after the Russian government told the U.S. State Department that Kennan must be recalled immediately. The Russians charged that the ambassador made completely false statements hostile to the Soviet Union. At the time, Russia demanded his recall (three days ago) Kennan was in Geneva, where he'd been visiting his daughter who is a student at the International School. U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson called the Russian charges, outrageous.

George Kennan’s Love of Russia Inspired His Legendary “Containment” Strategy

It’s impossible to overstate the impact the American diplomat had on the United States’ Cold War policy

September 30, 2016

A Photographer’s 40,000-Mile Journey to Find What Peace Means to Americans

John Noltner has driven across the country in an effort to document the many definitions of peace

September 30, 2016

Brigadier General Courtney Whitney, government section, Far East Command; General Douglas MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief, United Nations Command, and Major General Edward Almond (at right, pointing), Commanding General, X Corps in Korea, observe the shelling of Incheon from the USS Mount McKinley.

The Redacted Testimony That Fully Explains Why General MacArthur Was Fired

Far beyond being insubordinate, the military leader seemed to not grasp the consequences of his desired strategy

September 28, 2016

By looking back at historic polls, we can find some surprising relevance to today's politics

Inside the Alluring Power of Public Opinion Polls From Elections Past

A digital-savvy historian discusses his popular @HistOpinion Twitter account

September 26, 2016

After U.S. Border Patrol spots their raft, migrants speed back toward the Mexico side of the Rio Grande.

Myth and Reason on the Mexican Border

The renowned travel writer journeys the length of the U.S.-Mexico border to get a firsthand look at life along the blurry 2,000-mile line

September 21, 2016

How the Heated, Divisive Election of 1800 Was the First Real Test of American Democracy

A banner from the Smithsonian collections lays out the stakes of Jefferson vs. Adams

October 2016

Cool Finds

Four Finds from University of Kansas’ Collection of Radical Zines

The university’s Solidarity! Radical Library boasts a collection of almost 1,000 alternative papers

September 14, 2016

The Library of Celsus at Ephesus, an ancient Greek colony in southwestern Turkey.

Turkish authorities have shut down a major dig early due to international tensions

September 9, 2016

Federal Corrections Instiution, Ray Brook, is housed inside the former Olympic Village for the 1980 games in Lake Placid

It’s one way to deal with leftover infrastructure

August 18, 2016

Irom Sharmila ended her 16-year-long fast with a lick of honey.

Irom Chanu Sharmila resisted a draconian law with her own body

August 9, 2016

While the role is ceremonial, abdication could mean a political battle

August 8, 2016