U.S. History

Night attack at Fort Stevens on July 11, 1864

Washington, D.C.

When Washington, D.C. Came Close to Being Conquered by the Confederacy

The year was 1864, and the South was all but beaten, yet Jubal Early's ragged army had D.C. within its grasp

Document Deep Dive

A Deeper Look at the Politicians Who Passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Fifty years later, a dive into what it took to make the historic legislation law

Natchez, a historic cotton and sugar port on the Mississippi River, has seen its population fall by a third since 1960.

The Soul of the South

Fifty years after the civil rights summer of 1964, renowned travel writer Paul Theroux chronicles the living memory of an overlooked America

USS Constitution vs. HMS Guerriere by Thomas Birch, circa 1813

The British View the War of 1812 Quite Differently Than Americans Do

The star-spangled war confirmed independence for the United States. But for Great Britain, it was a betrayal

When Copy and Paste Reigned in the Age of Scrapbooking

Today’s obsession with posting material to Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter has a very American history

Springer Auditorium in Music Hall.

America's Most Endangered Historic Places

Here are the 11 endangered sites—including the prison where Solomon Northup was held—on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's 2014 list

This month's Atlantic cover story by Ta-Nehisi Coates is generating some serious discussion about "The Case for Reparations."

Breaking Ground

America's Moral Debt to African Americans

The director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture joins the discussion around "The Case for Reparations"

Sacajawea guiding the expedition from Mandan through the Rocky Mountains. Painting by Alfred Russell.

Lewis and Clark Only Became Popular 50 Years Ago

For 150 years, the famous explorers were relatively unknown characters

Noon mass at Saint Vincent de Paul's Church on D-Day.

Photos From the Hours After Americans Heard About the D-Day Invasion

Black and white photos from the Library of Congress show New Yorkers rallying, praying, on June 6, 1944

Les Braves war memorial sculpture on Omaha Beach.

Why a Walk Along the Beaches of Normandy Is the Ideal Way to Remember D-Day

Follow in the footsteps of legendary reporter Ernie Pyle to get a real feel for the events that took place 70 years ago

Camel statues mark the Desert of Maine, which is actually not a true desert.

The Science of a Tourist Trap: What's This Desert Doing in Maine?

Maine's "most famous natural phenomenon" is also a reminder about responsible land use

Lodgers in a crowded Bayard Street tenement, 1889.

Pioneering Social Reformer Jacob Riis Revealed "How The Other Half Lives" in America

How innovations in photography helped this 19th century journalist improve life for many of his fellow immigrants

When Collectors Cut Off Pieces of the Star-Spangled Banner As Keepsakes

For years patriots clamored for swatches of the enormous flag that raised spirits at “dawn’s early light”

World War I: 100 Years Later

Europe’s Landscape Is Still Scarred by World War I

Photographs of the abandoned battlefields reveal the trenches’ scars still run deep

Window washer Jan Demczur used his squeegee to pry open the elevator doors where he and five others were trapped. Taking turns, they used the squeegee and its metal handle to hack through drywall so that they could squeeze through and escape down the stairs.

How a Squeegee Handle Became a Life-Saving Tool on September 11, 2001

Artifacts now on loan to New York City's National September 11 Memorial and Museum tell the story in ways that words cannot

In March 2012, shipwrights at the Mystic Seaport Museum replace planks in the hull of the Charles W. Morgan. The restoration of the ship required more than 50,000 board feet of live oak and other woods for framing, planking and other structural elements.

For the First Time in 93 Years, a 19th-Century Whaling Ship Sets Sail

Built in 1841, the Charles W. Morgan is plying the waters off New England this summer

The U.S. Coast Survey map calculated the number of slaves in each county in the United States in 1860.

These Maps Reveal How Slavery Expanded Across the United States

As the hunger for more farmland stretched west, so too did the demand for enslaved labor

Tuberculosis Pavilion Lobby

Exploring New York City’s Abandoned Island, Where Nature Has Taken Over

Nestled in between the Bronx and Manhattan, North Brother Island once housed Typhoid Mary, but now is an astonishing look at a world without humans

Man posing with construction workers at the top of the Washington Monument. The first restoration of the Monument began in 1934 as a Depression-era public works project.

Washington, D.C.

Historic Photos of Washington's Great Monuments, Memorials and Buildings Under Construction

Take a step back in time to see the building of some of D.C.'s most famous icons

The mash floor of George Washington's Distillery. The 210 gallon boiler, left, heats water to 212 degrees so it can be used to make mash in the barrels on the right.

Washington, D.C.

Long Before Jack Daniels, George Washington Was a Whiskey Tycoon

The Founding Father spent his post-presidency years presiding over a booming alcohol business

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