Westward Expansion

Iwo Jima by David Levinthal, from the series "History," 2013

What David Levinthal’s Photos of Toys Reveal About American Myth and Memory

A new show at the Smithsonian American Art Museum reflects on iconic events including JFK's assassination, flag raising at Iwo Jima and Custer's last stand

In 1912, sculptor Alexander Phimister Proctor created Buffalo (model for Q Street Bridge).

What Do Bovids, Bridges and the West Have to Do With American Art?

In the debut episode of “Re:Frame,” Smithsonian curators explore the iconic symbol of the West, the American Bison

Nevada Has a Massive New Dark Sky Sanctuary

The night skies at 100,000-acre Massacre Ridge are some of the starriest in the world

One of the Biggest Locomotives of All Time Rides Again

After five years of restoration, 1.2 million pound Big Boy 4014 is visiting Utah to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Golden Spike

Crocker's Car heads to Promontory Summit in 1869. The car shuttled railroad president Leland Stanford from Sacramento to officially complete the transcontinental railroad, and probably also carried the iconic Golden Spike to the ceremony.

The Last Remaining Rail Car That ‘Witnessed’ the Transcontinental Railroad’s Momentous Day

‘Crocker’s Car’ brought the tycoon Leland Stanford to connect the East Coast to the West in 1869

Pioneers' Flatboat, originally published in black and white in The Century Magazine (volume 92, May to October, 1916).

Recounting the Untold History of the Early Midwestern Pioneers

In his new book, historian David McCullough reveals how the New England settlers made their mark on the U.S.

Detail of photograph by Eadweard Muybridge

When California Went to War Over Eggs

As the Gold Rush brought more settlers to San Francisco, battles erupted over another substance of a similar hue: the egg yolks of a remote seabird colony

'Hanging of the San Patricios following the Battle of Chapultepec' by Samuel E. Chamberlain depicts a multiple execution in the aftermath of one of the battles of the Mexican-American War.

During the Mexican-American War, Irish-Americans Fought for Mexico in the 'Saint Patrick's Battalion'

Anti-Catholic sentiment in the States gave men like John Riley little reason to continue to pay allegiance to the stars and stripes

How First Lady Sarah Polk Set a Model for Conservative Female Power

The popular and pious wife to President James Polk had little use for the nascent suffrage movement

Damage to the Philippine Legislative Building as a result of World War II. At the time, the Philippines was a U.S. colony.

Telling the History of the U.S. Through Its Territories

In "How to Hide an Empire," Daniel Immerwahr explores America far beyond the borders of the Lower 48

Abigail Spencer as Lucy Preston, Malcolm Barrett as Rufus Carlin, and Matt Lanter as Wyatt Logan just got back from saving history. Again. NBD.

One Last Time, Read Our ‘Timeless’ Deep Dive Into What the Beloved TV Show Got Right and Wrong

“Timeless”’s finale teaches us how to say goodbye to the intrepid, time-traveling crew

Redwood forest in California, similar to some of the terrain Josiah Gregg and his team crossed at the height of the California Gold Rush.

The Ill-Fated Expedition of a 19th-Century Scientist to Explore the California Wilderness

Even facing exposure and starvation, Josiah Gregg insisted on stopping to take measurements and observations, much to his companions' distress

The Best History Books of 2018

From the political violence of 19th-century America to the untold stories of African-American pioneers, these books help shape our understanding of today

Buffaloes at Rest recalls a time when bison were plentiful. When the print was created in 1911, only about 1,350 remained.

The Bison Returns to the Great American Plains

After years of fierce debate, the West’s greatest symbol will again roam the countryside

Buffalo Bill poster, 1900, by the Courier Lithography Company

The Shrewd Press Agent Who Transformed William Cody Into Larger-Than-Life Buffalo Bill

"Arizona John" Burke perfected the art of hype that converted a bison hunter into a symbol of national character

You'll Soon Be Able to Stay in This Historic California Ghost Town

Cerro Gordo was once a lively mining town. Now its new owners have plans to refurbish it in hopes of attracting visitors to the relic of the Wild West

John Wesley Powell by Edmund Clarence Messer, 1889

The Visionary John Wesley Powell Had a Plan for Developing the West, But Nobody Listened

Powell’s foresight might have prevented the 1930s dust bowl and perhaps, today’s water scarcities

The first map of the United States, published in 1784 by Abel Buell, shows the recent addition of the Northwest Territories—a region that would soon include the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, home to thousands of African-American pioneers.

The Unheralded Pioneers of 19th-Century America Were Free African-American Families

In her new book, 'The Bone and Sinew of the Land', historian Anna-Lisa Cox explores the mostly ignored story of the free black people who first moved West

An example from a collection of drawings made by Sioux artists living in Fort Yates, North Dakota, in 1913.

Newberry Library Digitizes Trove of Lakota Drawings

The art is part of a larger digitization project of early American history by the Chicago-based research library

A model of the planned artwork for downtown Albuquerque memorializing the landmark case that expanded the rights of Asian Americans.

Monument Marks Little-Remembered Case That Set Precedent for Asian Americans to Testify in Court

The history around the 'Territory of New Mexico v. Yee Shun' will be memorialized in the upcoming public work 'View from Gold Mountain'

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