U.S. History

Secrets of American History

That Time When Custer Stole a Horse

The theft of a prize-winning stallion gave the famous general a glimpse of a future that could have been

The pivotal accuser at the trials, Tituba, would go down in history as a purveyor of satanic magic. An 1880s engraving depicts her in the act of terrifying children.

Secrets of American History

Unraveling the Many Mysteries of Tituba, the Star Witness of the Salem Witch Trials

No one really knows the true motives of the character central to one of America's greatest secrets

A bowl done in a style first seen around A.D. 1100 has “acid blooms” on its interior—imperfections suggesting that someone used modern soaps to clean the bowl up, possibly to fetch a higher price on the black market.

An Exclusive Look at the Greatest Haul of Native American Artifacts, Ever

In a warehouse in Utah, federal agents are storing tens of thousands of looted objects recovered in a massive sting

Where Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse Defeated Colonel Custer

Custer's Last Stand took place at the Little Bighorn River, where he led over 200 soldiers into battle against thousands of Lakota and Cheyenne warriors

Howard Unruh, a war veteran, killed 13 people by shooting from a window down into a crowded street. Police forced him out of the apartment with tear gas.

The Story of the First Mass Shooting in U.S. History

Howard Unruh’s “Walk of Death” foretold an era in which such tragedies would become all too common

This State Produces 270 Million Pounds of Popcorn Per Year

A large portion of Indiana's economy relies on an invaluable crop: corn. Popcorn plants have perfected the production of our favorite movie snack

Shaving was something of a job on all the Apollo missions because in Zero-G, water doesn't just run off the face.

New Photos From Apollo Mission Depict the Mundane Daily Tasks of Astronauts at Work

From the original film rolls that the astronauts took into space, a work-a-day routine emerges of Apollo mission voyages

Soldiers pose with bison heads captured from poacher Ed Howell. In the early days of Yellowstone, poaching, setting the park on fire and defacing its hot springs were rampant.

Age of Humans

How the U.S. Army Saved Our National Parks

Before the National Park Service, Yellowstone was guarded by the cavalry. Without them, we might not have national parks today

The title of Gardner's photograph (taken with Timothy O'Sullivan) Field Where General Reynolds Fell, Gettysburg, July 1863 was added later to capitalize on the famous general's heroism.

Alexander Gardner Saw Himself as an Artist, Crafting the Image of War in All Its Brutality

The National Portrait Gallery’s new show on the Civil War photographer rediscovers the full significance of Gardner's career

Where the Nazis Hid $3.5 Billion of Stolen Art

In 1945, the Nazis hid their stolen art in a sealed salt mine. But when U.S. troops arrived, they found that the opening to the mine had been destroyed

Chinese immigrants and gold miners mingle on a main street in San Francisco in 1849.

Gold Rush California Was Much More Expensive Than Today’s Tech-Boom California

Back in 1849, a dozen eggs would cost you the equivalent of $90

A statue of Junipero Serra, Catholicism's newest saint, stands in front of San Gabriel Arcángel, the California mission he founded in 1771.

Why Are Native Groups Protesting Catholicism's Newest Saint?

Nearly 250 years after Junipero Serra founded California's first missions, questions linger about his legacy

A 19th-century illustration published by Alphonse Milne-Edwards.

How America Fell in Love With the Giant Panda

A French missionary, Teddy Roosevelt’s sons, and a widowed socialite all factor into the tale of how the nation fell in love with the rare beast

Alice Roosevelt and Nicholas Longworth disembark in Manila

Global Diplomacy Was in Theodore Roosevelt's Hands, But His Daughter Stole the Show

Alice Roosevelt's 1905 journey to Japan, Korea and China is documented in rare photographs held by the Freer and Sackler Galleries

Martha McDonald performs in the 2014 work The Lost Garden at The Woodlands in Philadelphia.

What Artist Martha McDonald Might Teach Us About a Nation Divided

This fall, a one-woman show staged in one of Washington, D.C.’s most historic buildings will recall the sorrow of the Civil War

The Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company premiers its newest work, "We choose to go to the moon," at the Kennedy Center on September 19 and 20, 2015.

A Dancer and a Scientist Deliver a New Take on the Moon Walk

When modern dance collides with science and space history, the result can be a great leap forward

A suggestion to change our vocabulary when we talk about American History

A Proposal to Change the Words We Use When Talking About the Civil War

Historian Michael Landis writes that vocabulary like “compromise” or “Union” shape how we view our past

Charles Lindbergh was the innovator and designer of the perfusion pump.

The Innovative Spirit

To Save His Dying Sister-In-Law, Charles Lindbergh Invented a Medical Device

The famous aviator’s biography is incomplete without the story of how the aviator worked to perfect his glass-chambered perfusion pump

This Man Invented the Way You Bank

Amadeo Giannini, a first-generation American, founded the Bank of Italy, which would later become one of the world's largest commercial banks

Mills and smokestacks in Lowell, Massachusetts, considered by some historians to be the first real company town in the U.S.

America’s Company Towns, Then and Now

A look at these small towns across the United States shows the good, the bad and the ugly of the industrial boom

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