Westward Expansion
How California Took Over the World
A sweeping book offers a provocative new history arguing that today's inequality can be traced back to the state's founding
How the Myth of the American Frontier Got Its Start
Frederick Jackson Turner’s thesis informed decades of scholarship and culture. Then he realized he was wrong
The Ten Best History Books of 2022
Our favorite titles of the year resurrect forgotten histories and illuminate how the nation ended up where it is today
How Would Crazy Horse See His Legacy?
Perhaps no Native American is more admired for military acumen than the Lakota leader. But is that how he wanted to be remembered?
Cache of 19th-Century Blue Jeans Discovered in Abandoned Arizona Mineshaft
The seven pairs of pants open a portal into life in the Castle Dome mining district
Meet the ‘Forest Ninja Bison’ Living in Grand Canyon National Park
Wildlife managers recently relocated dozens of the iconic animals to help restore balance to the park's ecosystem
The First Chinese Restaurant in America Has a Savory—and Unsavory—History
Venture into the Montana eatery, once a gambling den and opium repository, that still draws a crowd
What Extreme Flooding in Yellowstone Means for the National Park's Gateway Towns
These communities rely almost entirely on tourism for their existence—yet too much tourism, not to mention climate change, can destroy them
Untold Stories of American History
The Black Buffalo Soldiers Who Biked Across the American West
In 1897, the 25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps embarked on a 1,900-mile journey from Montana to Missouri
The Trailblazing Black Entrepreneurs Who Shaped a 19th-Century California Boomtown
Though founded by Confederates, Julian became a place of opportunity for people of color—and a model for what the U.S. could look like after the Civil War
Denver Apologizes for Anti-Chinese Riot of 1880
A white mob terrorized residents and murdered a man, but the city never punished the perpetrators
Untold Stories of American History
What Archaeologists Are Learning About the Lives of the Chinese Immigrants Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad
In the sparse Utah desert, the vital contributions of these 19th-century laborers are finally coming to light
How Sitting Bull's Fight for Indigenous Land Rights Shaped the Creation of Yellowstone National Park
The 1872 act that established the nature preserve provoked Lakota assertions of sovereignty
Inside Idaho's Campaign to Include Indigenous History in Its Highway Markers
Native leaders and scholars are advising the State Historic Preservation Office's landmark decolonization project
You Could Own a Former Military Town in New Mexico
In its heyday, Fort Wingate housed Buffalo Soldiers, Navajo code talkers and a future general
How Artists Challenge Mythic Conceptions of the American West
Forty-eight modern and contemporary artists who are reclaiming the narratives of their region
New 'Oregon Trail' Game Revisits Westward Expansion From Native Perspective
Developers hired three Indigenous historians to help revamp the iconic educational computer game
The Ill-Fated Idea to Move the Nation's Capital to St. Louis
In the years after the Civil War, some wanted a new seat of government that would be closer to the geographic center of a growing nation
Are There Native Descendants of the Lewis and Clark Expedition? And More Questions From Our Readers
You've got questions. We've got experts
100 Years of Women at the Ballot Box
How the American West Led the Way for Women in Politics
Western territories and states were the first to expand voting rights for women
