U.S. History

A circular landing track imagined for New York in 1919

When We All Commute by Airplane

If commuting to work via personal aeroplane was the future, how might the design of cities change to accommodate them?

Richard Von Gammon, a football casualty of 1897

Score One for Roosevelt

"Football is on trial," President Theodore Roosevelt declared in 1905. So he launched the effort that saved the game

Bob Clevenhagen, known to many as the Michelangelo of the mitt, has been designing baseball gloves since 1983 for the Gold Glove Company.

Baseball’s Glove Man

For 28 years, Bob Clevenhagen has designed the custom gloves of many of baseball’s greatest players

When Pride Still Mattered, a biography of Vince Lombardi, is as much about the man as it is about the coach.

The Essentials: Five Books on Football History

Sports columnist Sally Jenkins picks out the books that any true sports fan would want to read

There were emotional hugs on May 2, 2011, near the construction site of the new World Trade Center in New York City, after Osama bin Laden was killed in Pakistan by Navy Seals.

What 9/11 Wrought

The former editor of the New York Times considers the effects of the terrorist attacks on the 10th anniversary of the fateful day

Union generals lost a week long siege of Lexington, Missouri, shown here, but took control of Ship Island, off Mississippi's coast.

September 1861: Settling in for a Long War

During this month, the civil war expands to Kentucky and West Virginia, and President Lincoln rejects an attempt at emancipation

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Coming to Terms

In the United States and Finland

"People who knew Dr. King personally, all of them look at it [the memorial] and say, 'That's him,'" says Lisa Anders, senior project manager.

Building the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial

For those working behind the scenes on the King memorial, its meaning runs deep

Aaron Ogden, Aaron Burr and Jonathan Dayton, three men from Elizabethtown, New Jersey, were hell-bent on winning power and wealth.

Burr, Ogden and Dayton: The Original Jersey Boys

Known as much for their troubles as their successes, these childhood friends left their mark on early American history

According to author Christine Sismondo, taverns, such as the one shown here in New York City, produced a particular type of public sphere in colonial America.

The Spirited History of the American Bar

A new book details how the neighborhood pub, tavern, bar or saloon plays a pivotal role in United States history

Scores of high-spirited civilians carried picnic baskets and champagne to the battlefield to watch what would turn out to be the first major land engagement of the Civil War. Shown here is the battlefield as it appears today.

The Civil War

The Battle of Bull Run: The End of Illusions

Both North and South expected victory to be glorious and quick, but the first major battle signaled the long and deadly war to come

In her new book, Founding Gardeners, London-based historian Andrea Wulf argues that the founders' love of gardening and farming shaped their vision of America.

Founding Fathers, Great Gardeners

In her new book, Andrea Wulf argues that the founding fathers' love of gardening shaped their vision of America

Ruins in front of the Capitol in Richmond showing some of the destruction caused by a Confederate attempt to burn Richmond.

Battlefields

Casualties mounting on two fronts

"I will not live in silence," said Thomas A. Drake, in Washington, D.C. in May. He was charged with retaining national defense information.

Leaks and the Law: The Story of Thomas Drake

The former NSA official reached a plea deal with the government, but the case still raises questions about the public’s right to know

The opposing voices in America's first great debate about global warming was between Thomas Jefferson and Noah Webster in 1799.

America’s First Great Global Warming Debate

Thomas Jefferson and Noah Webster argue over conventional wisdom that lasted thousands of years

During the Civil War, Fort Monroe served as the key staging ground for Northern campaigns against Norfolk, the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the Southern capital of Richmond.

Fort Monroe’s Lasting Place in History

Famous for accepting escaped slaves during the Civil War, the Virginia base also has a history that heralds back to Jamestown

This past June, racers, ages 8 to 17, took part in the 70th running of the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby.

The History of Soap Box Derby

For nearly 80 years, kids have steered their gravity-powered racers toward a coveted national championship

"We expect a fight every moment," a Confederate private reported from Virginia, where New York's 8th militia, pictured, camped.

June 1861: Anticipating the Onslaught of the Civil War

The "Races at Philippi" and Virginia is split in two and more from what happened in the Civil War in June 1861

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Risky Businesses

On track to take off

A new Folkways album is one of many offerings for the war sesquicentennial.

Civil Discourse

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