American History

Previously unrecorded portrait of Harriet Tubman

Newly Discovered Photo May Depict a Younger Harriet Tubman

The late 1860s carte-de-visite comes from fellow abolitionist Emily Howland's album

Spring in the gardens.

The Southern Romance of the Nation's Oldest Public Garden

Three centuries of beauty and history are on display at the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens

It was a pivotal moment in computing history when a computer beat a human at chess for the first time, but that doesn't mean chess is "solved."

Computers Are Great at Chess, But That Doesn't Mean the Game Is 'Solved'

On this day in 1996, the computer Deep Blue made history when it beat Garry Kasparov

When Charles Sumner spoke out against slavery in 1856, he incurred the violent wrath of congressman Preston Brooks.

In the Congressional Fight Over Slavery, Decorum Went Out the Door

Amid today's dissent over proper Senate behavior, take a look back at when an assault in the Senate divided the nation

An unidentified player takes a putt at the original "Tom Thumb Golf" built by Garnet Carter.

The Brief 1930s Craze for 'Tom Thumb Golf'

Miniature golf courses had been around before, but Garnet Carter gave it a roadside attraction spin

The “Scandalous” Quarter Protest That Wasn’t

Were Americans really so outraged by a semi-topless Lady Liberty that the U.S. Mint had to censor this coin?

This is the 517th Xerox model 917 ever made, donated to the Smithsonian in 1985.

Watch the Original 1959 Ad for the First Office-Ready Xerox Machine

When the Xerox 914 entered offices, the working world changed forever

The crew of Skylab 4 in August 1973. From left to right: astronaut Gerald Carr, who commanded the mission; scientist-astronaut Edward Gibson; astronaut William Pogue.

Mutiny in Space: Why These Skylab Astronauts Never Flew Again

In 1973, it was the longest space mission — 84 days in the stars. But at some point the astronauts just got fed up

Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield

The Soprano Who Upended Americans' Racist Stereotypes About Who Could Sing Opera

Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield was in many ways the nation's first black pop star

This illustration by Helen Sewell graced one of the original editions of Little House on the Prairie, published in the 1930s. That book tells of the period in the Ingalls family's lives in which they settled in Kansas on land that still belonged to Native Americans.

The Little House on the Prairie Was Built on Native American Land

Yesterday was Laura Ingalls Wilder's 150th birthday. It's time to take a critical look at her work

At the height of their popularity in the 1950s, children's coonskin caps like this one from the Smithsonian collections, sold at the rate of 5,000 per day.

The Invention of Vintage Clothing

It all began with the Davy Crockett coonskin hat craze and a bunch of Bohemians yearning to swathe themselves in decades-old fur

There are many hurdles to building the proposed border wall. And skimping on any steps means that "big, beautiful" wall won't stand for long.

What Geology Has to Say About Building a 1,000-Mile Border Wall

Compared to erecting a marble palace or high-steepled church, a wall may seem relatively straightforward—it isn’t

From left: Roger White, curator; John Gray, director, Rose Miller, Leonard W. Miller, Jane Rogers, curator and Leonard T. Miller

How One Black Family Drove an Auto Racing Association to the Winner’s Circle

A new collection at the National Museum of American History reveals the untold story

This engraving of the 'Titanic' sinking was made shortly after the event happened, when the world was still reeling from the massive loss of life.

The Chief Designer of the ‘Titanic’ Saved Everyone He Could as His Ship Went Down

Thomas Andrews had argued for more lifeboats on the ship, but he was rebuffed on the grounds that it would ruin the view

How the Passport Became an Improbable Symbol of American Identity

The idea of having documents to cross borders is ancient, but when it became popularized in the U.S., it caused quite the stir

Muslims Were Banned From the Americas as Early as the 16th Century

Long before today’s anxiety about terror attacks, Spain and England feared that enslaved Africans would be more susceptible to revolt if they were Muslim

As 19th century urban living became more cramped, some women began to reinvent the domestic sphere with technology.

These Four Black Women Inventors Reimagined the Technology of the Home

By designating the realm of technology as 'male,' we overlook key inventions that took place in the domestic sphere

Immigrants outside a building on Ellis Island, circa 1900.

Literacy Tests and Asian Exclusion Were the Hallmarks of the 1917 Immigration Act

One hundred years ago, the U.S. Congress decided that there needed to be severe limits on who was coming into the country

Babe Ruth's first major-league team was the Boston Red Sox, where he was a star player. When he was sold to the New York Yankees in 1919, the "Curse of the Bambino" began and the Red Sox didn't win another World Series until 2004.

Why Was Babe Ruth So Good At Hitting Home Runs?

People have been using science on the Great Bambino since the 1920s

This 1976 photograph shows a woman receiving a vaccination during the nationwide swine flu vaccination campaign.

The Long Shadow of the 1976 Swine Flu Vaccine 'Fiasco'

Some, but not all, of the hesitance to embrace vaccines can be traced back to this event more than 40 years ago

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