U.S. History

Maria Oakey Dewing, "Garden in May," 1895,

Smithsonian Voices

Why the Rare Works of Maria Oakey Dewing Are Worthy of a Reconsideration

Smithsonian Provost John Davis takes a closer look at the painter, who described herself as a "garden-thirsty soul."

American jazz musicians Charlie Parker, on alto sax, and Thelonious Monk, on piano, perform at the Open Door Cafe, in New York City on September 14, 1953.

The Long Journey of Charlie Parker’s Saxophone

The newly acquired instrument, played by the father of bebop, is on view at the National Museum of African American History and Culture

U.S. Army Pvt. John McGrath survived the bullet that scarred this letter he penned during the liberation of Italy.

The Unprecedented Effort to Preserve a Million Letters Written by U.S. Soldiers During Wartime

A tragedy at home led one intrepid historian to find and catalog precious correspondence for future generations to study

Deadly perils awaited prospectors who flocked to the Yukon. In April 1898, on a single day, 65 men on the Chilkoot Trail died in an avalanche. Typhoid also took its toll.

Gold Fever! Deadly Cold! And the Amazing True Adventures of Jack London in the Wild

In 1897, the California native went to the frozen North looking for gold. What he found instead was the great American novel

A map shows Mexico and its provinces—which included Mexican Texas—in 1822.

When Mexico's Immigration Troubles Came From Americans Crossing the Border

Before Texas fought for its independence, thousands of settlers from the east entered the country unlawfully in search of land and agricultural opportunity

"Deep Roots," a section in the Smithsonian's new "Food" exhibition, reflects on the men and women of Mexican heritage, who have long provided the labor and backbone of the production of wine and are now reshaping it as professionals in the industry.

Food, Glorious Food

Three Mexican-American Vintners Tell Their Stories

Alex Llamas, Gustavo Brambila and Amelia Ceja arrived as migrant workers and today thrive as entrepreneurs in the California wine industry

Alcatraz Island, home to the nation’s most notorious pen, was the site of a crucial civil rights battle 50 years ago.

Alcatraz's Captivating Hold on History

Fifty years after Native American activists occupied the island, take a look back at the old prison in San Francisco Bay

Entering German cities within days of their capture by Allied forces, the special Army-led team slipped into bomb-ravaged Cologne in early March 1945.

The Untold Story of the Secret Mission to Seize Nazi Map Data

How a covert U.S. Army intelligence unit canvassed war-torn Europe, capturing intelligence with incalculable strategic value

Eileen Collins in space in 1995, when she became the first woman to pilot a space shuttle.

What It Was Like to Become the First Woman to Pilot and Command a Space Shuttle

Eileen Collins talked to <i>Smithsonian</i> about her career in the Air Force and NASA, women in aerospace and more

The Smithsonian's American Food History Project seeks to understand the history of the U.S. through the multi-faceted lens of food.

Food, Glorious Food

How Food Brought Success to a Chef, a Cookbook Author and a Restaurateur

Historian Ashley Rose Young shares research from the Smithsonian’s 23-year-long ‘American Food History Project’

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For Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a Rethinking of How We Celebrate American History

Indigenous Peoples’ Day recognizes that Native people are the first inhabitants of the Americas, including the lands that later became the United States

TV's "Julia" premiered on September 17, 1968 and the show was an instant hit, winning actress Diahann Carroll (above with Marc Copage as Corey Baker) the Golden Globe Award for best actress in a comedy in its first season.

Was the 1968 TV Show 'Julia' a Milestone or a Millstone for Diversity?

Diahann Carroll's award-winning series was a hit, but it delivered a sanitized view of African-American life

Gray’s general store, located in Little Compton, Rhode Island, was built the year before George Washington was sworn in as the nation's first president. Shown here in 2017, the store closed in 2012 after the owner died.

What the 17th-Century Ideal of a 'Commons' Means in the 21st Century

Is there even such a thing anymore as a completely public space?

Monon and Ottily Bayer, the daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Bayer of Costamesa, California, pose in a small, "bunk bed" trailer at their campground in the Shasta National Forest. California, August 1953.

Ten Inventive Attempts to Make Camping More Comfortable

Making a stay in the great outdoors more luxe isn’t new—even if glamping and #vanlife are

The Hondius map of 1589 inset depicts Drake's encampment at New Albion, Portus Novas Albionis.

Did Francis Drake Really Land in California?

New research suggests that one of the state’s greatest historians had a hand in perpetrating an infamous hoax

The Evidence Room represents thousands of pages of testimony that was assembled by Robert Jan van Pelt, an architectural historian and the main expert witness in a British lawsuit brought by a Holocaust denier.

Using Art to Talk About the Holocaust in ‘The Evidence Room’

Museum staff discuss the reception of a difficult work that showed the vivid and painful documentation of a Nazi death camp

“We call ourselves the Great Convener,” says the new Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, “but really we’re a Great Legitimizer. And I want the Smithsonian to legitimize important issues."

Lonnie Bunch Sizes Up His Past and Future at the Smithsonian

Bunch’s new memoir details the tireless work it took to build NMAAHC and offers insights into his priorities as Smithsonian Secretary

Illustration by Be Boggs

How the 'Blonde Rattlesnake' Stirred Public Fascination With Female Accomplices

In 1933, Burmah White was punished harshly—and amidst a media frenzy—after she and her husband committed a spree of crimes in Los Angeles

Soldiers take a psychological test (the exact type of examination is unclear) in Camp Lee in Virginia in November 1917, the year the United States entered World War I and Woodworth first developed his test.

The Future of Mental Health

The First Personality Test Was Developed During World War I

Long before online quizzes and Myers-Briggs, Robert Woodworth’s “Psychoneurotic Inventory” tried to assess recruits' susceptibility to shell shock

Charlotte Moore Sitterly made huge strides in our understanding of how atoms are structured and what stars, especially our sun, are made of.

Women Who Shaped History

How Charlotte Moore Sitterly Wrote The Encyclopedia of Starlight

The "world’s most honored woman astrophysicist" worked tirelessly for decades to measure the makeup of the sun and the stars

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