American History

Disney’s childhood home in Chicago (on the corner), as depicted by Google Street View.

Walt Disney's Childhood Home May Soon Be a Museum

The new owners may return the house to the same conditions it was in when young Disney ran through its halls

Different visuals paint different pictures of the AIDS epidemic in America.

The Confusing and At-Times Counterproductive 1980s Response to the AIDS Epidemic

A new exhibit looks at the posters sent out by non-profits and the government in response to the spread of AIDS

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Dear Sir, Ben Franklin Would Like to Add You to His Network

Historian Caroline Winterer’s analysis of Franklin’s letters applies big data to big history

This menorah made by Manfred Anson (1922-2012), an immigrant to the United States celebrates American and Jewish traditions.

This One-of-a-Kind Menorah Represents the True Spirit of Thanksgivukkah

A Hanukkah tradition melds with an icon of Americana

The Mauna Loa Observatory where Keeling’s observations are made.

Budget Cuts Could Shut Down the Carbon Dioxide Monitors That First Warned of Global Warming

The monitoring program that gave us Keeling's Curve is facing the axe as budgets are cut

Conrad Heyer, a Revolutionary War Veteran, Was the Earliest-Born American To Ever Be Photographed

Conrad Heyer fought with Washington in the Revolutionary War

A microscope used in the development of Humulin, the first commercial product created via genetic modification. It was recently donated to the American History Museum.

A History of Biotechnology in Seven Objects

Newly donated items at the American History Museum tell the story of the birth of genetic engineering

Almost Half the Runners in the NYC Marathon Were Supposed to Race Last Year

New York's marathon is the country's largest, and last year, it was cancelled

101 Objects that Made America: America in the World

Pulled from the Smithsonian collections, these items range millennia, from pre-historic dinosaurs to the very first supercomputer

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How Cesar Chavez Changed the World

The farmworker’s initiative improved lives in America’s fields, and beyond

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A Close, Intimate Look at Walt Whitman

A haunting image captures America’s quintessential poet, writes author Mark Strand

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The Brief History of the ENIAC Computer

A look back at the room-size government computer that began the digital era

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Abraham Lincoln’s Top Hat: The Inside Story

Does the hat that links us to his final hours define the president? Or does the president define the hat?

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The Earliest Bike Design Is Getting a Modern, Electric Reboot

What would early bike designers think of this Tron-like reboot of their classic wheels?

NPR’s Andy Carvin has donated the iPhone he used during the Arab Spring to the American History Museum.

The Phone That Helped Andy Carvin Report the Arab Spring is Now in the Smithsonian

The NPR reporter talks about how he was able to factcheck tweets amid the rush of information in 2011

The migration paths that may have brought people across the Bering Strait Land Bridge.

The Very First Americans May Have Had European Roots

Some early Americans came not from Asia, it seems, but by way of Europe

U.S. paratroopers drop into Grenada

30 Years Ago Today, the U.S. Invaded Grenada

The conflict pit the U.S. military against Grenadian revolutionaries and the Cuban army

Before Hollywood Had Ratings, Films Were Way Racier

In the 1934 movie Murder at the Vanities there's a whole musical number about the pleasures of marijuana sung by half naked women

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Why We Missed America’s National Treasures During the Shutdown

The Smithsonian's Richard Kurin reflects on the recent shutdown and the icons that have shaped American history

This Map From 1812 Is Missing a Whole Continent

Back when America was small, Australia was "New Holland," and big chunks of the world seemingly didn't exist

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