Trusted Writing on History, Travel, and American Culture Since 1949
Featured Articles
In September 1862, the South hoped to end the war by invading Maryland just before the mid-term elections. But its hopes were dashed after the bloodiest day in American history.
By artfully illustrating the boundaries of colonial powers, mapmakers in the 1700s helped define what our New World would become.
In 1928, an attempt to land the first men on the North Pole ended in tragedy when the airship Italia crashed, sparking the largest polar-rescue mission in history.
Allied soldiers struggled for months to clear veteran German troops dug into the mountains of northern Italy in late 1944 and early 1945.
Web Exclusive
SUPPORT THIS WEBSITE BY BUYING A NEW EBOOK!
History around the web
David McCullough helped America understand itself
Douglas Brinkley recalls his friend and colleague McCullough, ‘the dean of our nation’s historians’
New Evidence for Early Humans in the Americas
Some of the first humans in North America butchered mammoth bones 37,000 years ago in what is now New Mexico.
We nearly lost our first president to the flu. The country could have died, too, by Gillian Brockell
In 1790, George Washington fell severely ill, threatening his life and the young nation he led.
Yes, Women Could Vote After The 19th Amendment — But Not All Women. Or Men, by Melissa Block
Even after that milestone, millions of people — women and men alike — were still excluded from the vote, as many barriers to suffrage remained.
I’m a Historian. I See Reason to Fear—And to Hope, by Joanne Freeman
We can’t assume that all will be fine in the end, but history shows us that times of unrest are opportunities, too.
The Mask Slackers of 1918, by Christine Hauser
As the influenza pandemic swept across the United States in 1918 and 1919, masks took a role in political and cultural wars.
-
Little Rock Central High School integrated
-
William Faulkner born
-
Bill of Rights proposed