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Law

A Benjamin West painting of the reception of American loyalists by Great Britain in 1783

America's 250th Anniversary

Born and Raised in Philadelphia, This Loyalist Fled to England During the American Revolution. In His Absence, the Patriots Declared Him a Traitor and Seized His Property

Matthias Aspden spent his time abroad yearning for his “native country.” His heirs later took the government to court, arguing that the estate had been confiscated unjustly

The federal government is reclassifying medical marijuana as a less dangerous drug.

State-Licensed Medical Marijuana Has Been Reclassified as a Less-Dangerous Drug. Here’s What That Means

The move should make it easier for researchers to study the substance and give tax breaks to licensed medical marijuana dealers

Modern fish traps require pilings that are driven into the riverbed and netting that reaches across part of a river.

Fish Traps Have Been Banned on the Columbia River for Nearly a Century. Could Bringing Them Back Help Save Salmon?

A new experiment is testing the commercial success of fish traps in Washington and Oregon. Even as some conservationists embrace the technique, its return has reopened old wounds among local fishers

Megalodons were massive predators that ruled the world's oceans.

Megalodons Went Extinct Millions of Years Ago. The Prehistoric Predator Could Become Maryland’s Official State Shark

Teeth belonging to the fearsome creatures have been discovered throughout the state. Now, they’re up for consideration by the state legislature

Nelson Mandela in April 1994

Dozens of Items That Once Belonged to Nelson Mandela Can Head to Auction, South African Court Rules

The collection includes shirts, sunglasses, a signed copy of South Africa’s first post-apartheid constitution and a prison key from Robben Island

A hand-colored map from 1860 depicts parts of Manhattan,  Brooklyn, Hoboken and Jersey City. 

The Time When New York City Seriously Considered Seceding From the United States

A culture clash driven by finances and Old World alignments had the Big Apple contemplating leaving the Union. The Civil War ended that

An examiner affixes a “driver testing” notice ahead of a road test in South Carolina, in the mid-20th century. 

The Driver’s License Used to Say Who Can Drive. Now It Says a Lot About Who We Are

What was once a simple paper card has evolved with the tech of the times as it has gone from protecting our roads to playing a role in national security

A whooping crane in flight in Texas

Whooping Cranes Came Back From the Brink of Extinction. Now, New Threats Are Converging on Their Texas Wintering Grounds

Some residents along the Gulf Coast are creating habitat for the endangered birds on their properties, but development, saltwater intrusion and bird flu are putting pressure on the species’ recovery

Aerial view of Vardo, Norway, the fishing town at the center of the 17th-century Finnmark witch trials

How a Sudden Winter Storm in 1617 Sparked the Deadliest Witchcraft Trials in Norwegian History

During the 17th-century Finnmark witch trials, 91 people were executed in Norway’s northernmost region, mainly by burning at the stake

Many stingless bees are native to Peru, where they pollinate the Amazon's diverse plants and food crops.

Honey-Making Stingless Bees in the Peruvian Amazon Become the First Insects to Gain Legal Rights

Two local ordinances granted rights to at least 175 stingless bee species in Peru, which are culturally and spiritually significant to Indigenous peoples and help maintain a healthy rainforest ecosystem

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Happy Public Domain Day to All Who Celebrate! You Can Now Use Betty Boop, Nancy Drew and ‘The Maltese Falcon’ for Free

On January 1, 2026, copyrights will expire for comics, books, movies, musical compositions and other creative works from 1930, as well as sound recordings from 1925

Our most-read stories of the year spotlighted a Eugène Delacroix painting, horseshoe crabs, the Dionne quintuplets and more.

Ten Top Smithsonian Stories of 2025, From Eerie Clay Puppets With Detachable Heads to a New Look at the American Revolution

The magazine’s most-read articles of the year included a deep dive on the Scopes “monkey trial,” an interview with award-winning documentarians and a profile of quintuplets who found fame during the Great Depression

The new Barbara Rose Johns statue was unveiled in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol on December 16.

Traveling Along the U.S. Civil Rights Trail

She Protested School Segregation as a Teenager. Now She’s Being Honored With a Statue at the U.S. Capitol

Lawmakers gathered in the Capitol for the unveiling of a bronze statue honoring teenage civil rights activist Barbara Rose Johns

Demonstrators at an anti-Vietnam War protest held at Bronx Science High School in New York in April 1968

Untold Stories of American History

Newly Declassified Records Suggest Parents Collaborated With the FBI to Spy on Their Rebellious Teens During the 1960s

As high school students across the U.S. embraced political activism, adults turned to the authorities to shield their sons and daughters from radical influences

Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring in Nuremberg, a new film written and directed by James Vanderbilt

Based on a True Story

The True Story Behind ‘Nuremberg,’ a WWII Drama About Hermann Göring’s Cat-and-Mouse Game With an American Psychiatrist

Starring Russell Crowe as the high-ranking Nazi and Rami Malek as Army officer Douglas M. Kelley, the film dramatizes the intense dynamic between its central characters during the Nuremberg trials

A guillotine donated by French lawyer Robert Badinter, who fought for the abolition of the death penalty, is on display at Marseille’s Museum of the Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean through April 2026.

A Guillotine Goes on Display in Marseille, Where the Execution Device Was Last Used 48 Years Ago

A museum in the city is honoring the legacy of Minister of Justice Robert Badinter, who fought to repeal the death penalty in France once and for all

These six keel-billed toucans were discovered bound and sedated in June by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials. The Wildlife Confiscations Network helped find experts at qualified facilities to care for the birds.

Once Smuggled Animals Are Rescued, Law Enforcement Officers Call Her

As coordinator of the Wildlife Confiscations Network, Mandy Fischer helps match trafficked animals—from alligators to jaguars to baby monkeys—with sanctuaries and care facilities

The 1863 Paris Salon rejected Édouard Manet's Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe, or The Luncheon on the Grass.

Paris Museum Puts Édouard Manet on Mock Trial for Painting a Scandalous Scene of a Nude Woman

“The Luncheon on the Grass” caused a stir when it made its debut in 1863. A century and a half later, students defended the French artist against obscenity charges

The whistle, pictured here, reminded researchers of Stone Age bone whistles found in Europe.

New Research

This Drilled Cow Bone May Have Been an Ancient Egyptian Cop’s Whistle

The artifact, found 17 years ago, was recently replicated and tested by researchers

The National Archives is the permanent home of the United States Constitution.

America's 250th Anniversary

See the Entire U.S. Constitution on Display for the Very First Time in History

The National Archives in Washington, D.C. will be showcasing the four pages of the historic document, plus a rarely shown “fifth page,” the Bill of Rights and the 17 other amendments

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