American History
What the Change of a Disney Park Ride Reflects About How America Sees Itself
Splash Mountain, originally based on the film ‘Song of the South,’ has become Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
The Forgotten Black Explorers Who Transformed Americans' Understanding of the Wilderness
Esteban, York and James Beckwourth charted the American frontier between the 16th and 19th centuries
How the 1904 Marathon Became One of the Weirdest Olympic Events of All Time
Athletes drank poison, dodged traffic, stole peaches and even hitchhiked during the 24.85-mile race in St. Louis
A Jewish Soldier Found in a German Mass Grave Has Been Reburied in an American Cemetery
Nathan Baskind received a Jewish burial exactly 80 years after his death in World War II
What a 100-Year-Old Lie Detector and 150-Year-Old Arsenic Tests Tell Us About Forensic Science Today
An exhibition at the National Museum of American History examines how humans influence and judge investigation techniques
'The Crime of the Century,' a Century Later
In the summer of 1924, the Leopold and Loeb murder case triggered a media frenzy and a debate over whether anyone can truly know what’s inside the mind of a cold-blooded killer
Who Was 'Lisa Ben,' the Woman Behind the U.S.'s First Lesbian Magazine?
Edythe Eyde published nine issues of "Vice Versa" between June 1947 and February 1948. She later adopted a pen name that doubled as an anagram for "lesbian"
The Judy Garland Museum Wants to Buy Dorothy's Ruby Slippers
Officials hope to raise millions to bid on the shoes, which were missing for over a decade, at auction in December
Meet the Forgotten Woman Who Revolutionized Microbiology With a Simple Kitchen Staple
Fanny Angelina Hesse introduced agar to the life sciences in 1881. A trove of unpublished family papers sheds new light on her many accomplishments
Why the 1924 Democratic National Convention Was the Longest and Most Chaotic of Its Kind in U.S. History
A century ago, the party took a record 103 ballots and 16 days of intense, violent debate to choose a presidential nominee
The Real Story Behind 'The Bikeriders' and the Danny Lyon Photography Book That Inspired It
A new film dramatizes the story of a motorcycle club chronicled by Lyon in the 1960s, offering a tribute to the outlaw spirit
These Badges Shed New Light on the Enslaved Workers Who Built Charleston
The Smithsonian has acquired a collection of 146 slave badges from between 1800 and 1865
The Paris Games' Mascot, the Olympic Phryge, Boasts a Little-Known Revolutionary Past
The Phrygian cap, also known as the liberty cap, emerged as a potent symbol in 18th-century America and France
There’s a Better Way to Teach the California Gold Rush
A new lesson plan centers Native American perspectives on the violence of Western expansion
Preserved Fruit From the 18th Century Found at George Washington's Estate
During a renovation project, archaeologists uncovered intact bottles containing preserved cherries and berries that are more than 250 years old
Railbiking Is Catching On Across the Nation—Here's Where to Try It Yourself
Sit back, relax and pedal your way along historic railroad tracks
You Could Own Rare Copies of the Nation's Founding Documents, Just in Time for the Fourth of July
Sotheby's is auctioning early printings of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, as well as a 1790 Rhode Island broadside
Everyone Should Know About Rickwood Field, the Alabama Park Where Baseball Legends Made History
The sport's greatest figures played ball in the Deep South amid the racism and bigotry that would later make Birmingham the center of the civil rights movement
Ancestry Releases Records of 183,000 Enslaved Individuals in America
The genealogy company has digitized and published 38,000 newspaper articles from between 1788 and 1867—before Black Americans were counted as citizens in the U.S. census
The 15 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2024
From a bluegrass capital in Virginia to a laid-back surf town in Hawaii, these spots are beckoning to tourists this year
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