American Presidents

Jesse J. Holland's book, "The Invisibles: The Untold Story of African American Slaves in the White House" offers new insight into lives of these men and women who lived in bondage in the White House.

The Slaves of the White House Finally Get to Have Their Stories Told

Long ignored by historians, the enslaved people of the White House are coming into focus through a new book by Jesse J. Holland

When Did the Vice Presidency Stop Going to the 2nd Place Winner and More Questions From Our Readers

Also up for discussion—why are oceans seawater and not freshwater?

James Monroe (L) and Alexander Hamilton (R) nearly dueled each other, but an unlikely political ally stepped in

That Time When Alexander Hamilton Almost Dueled James Monroe

And it was an unlikely ally who put a stop to their petty dispute

Air Force One is Getting a Makeover

The best presidential perk is about to get even better

Denali, Ongtupqa, and Other Native American Names for Landmarks

Mount McKinley was recently renamed Denali, but it's not the only one with a Native American name

George Washington's bedpan

The Strange Saga of George Washington’s Bedpan

Even the most mundane of objects associated with the Founding Father have a story

Coal power plant in New Mexico

How Do U.S. Carbon Emissions Rank Internationally?

It's complicated

Here’s What the First Lady Has to Do if She Wants to Redecorate

A few throw pillows and a touch of new paint? No way.

Obama Just Established Three New National Monuments Covering Over a Million Acres

Art, fossils and natural beauty

The first $10 Federal Reserve Note featured Andrew Jackson.

Andrew Jackson Wasn't Always on the $20 Bill

The controversial president's face has only been on $20 bills since 1928

Secret Service agents grab Gerald Ford seconds after Sara Jane Moore attempts to shoot him in September 1975.

These Two Female Assassins Independently Tried to Kill Gerald Ford

The only two women to attempt to kill a president did so within 17 days of one another

The South Portico of the White House, around 1950, during Truman's rennovation

The White House is Mostly a Reconstruction of the Original

The mansion may have been built over 200 years ago, but its skeleton was redone in the early 1950s

The coconut that John F. Kennedy carved a message into while stranded during his Navy service in 1943. During his term as president, the coconut sat on his desk in the Oval Office.

These History-Making Artifacts Can Only be Found at Presidential Libraries

From coconut shells to boat cloaks, these mementos tell fascinating tales from American presidential history

The Spiritualist Who Warned Lincoln Was Also Booth's Drinking Buddy

What did Charles Colchester know and when did he know it?

“The Booths had an inherited strain of darkness in them,” an acquaintance of Asia’s wrote in the foreword to her memoir.

The Closest Source We Have to Really Knowing John Wilkes Booth Is His Sister

In a post-assassination memoir, Asia Booth Clarke recalled her brother's passion, his patriotism and his last words to her

The weapon that shot Abraham Lincoln

The Blood Relics From the Lincoln Assassination

Even now, 150 years later, objects from the murder of the president provide a powerful link to the event

Adulation for Lincoln (a Philadelphia lithographer’s viewpoint, 1865) did not become widespread until years after he was killed.

What the Newspapers Said When Lincoln Was Killed

The initial reaction to the president's death was a wild mixture of grief, exultation, vengefulness and fear

A slave cabin at Mount Vernon, George Washington's estate in Virginia.

George Washington Used Legal Loopholes to Avoid Freeing His Slaves

One of his slaves fled to New Hampshire to escape becoming a wedding present

Benjamin Franklin reading letters, which may or may not have been written by his female friends.

The Founding Fathers and the Women, Not Their Wives, Whom They Wrote To

These words today would raise suspicion if written between married men and their female friends

President and First Lady Edith Wilson.

Five Spots for a Romantic Presidents' Day (or a Presidential Valentine's Day)

These locations combine presidential history and romance

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