AMERICAN HERITAGE

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In October 1918, 600 men of the 77th Division attacked a heavily defended German position, charging forward until they were completely surrounded by enemy forces. Only 194 men walked out when they were finally rescued.

Tecumseh and The Prophet at Tippecanoe

by Peter Cozzens

While his brother Tecumseh was assembling the greatest Indian confederation the U.S. would ever confront, the “Prophet” launched a fateful preemptive attack in Indiana Territory.

Blackface: the Sad History of Minstrel Shows

by Edwin S. Grosvenor

For most of the 1800s, whites in blackface performed in widely popular minstrel shows, creating racist stereotypes that endured for more than a century.

Revenge of the Nevada

by Ed Offley

The recent discovery of the hull of the battleship Nevada recalls her dramatic action at Pearl Harbor and ultimate revenge on D-Day as the first ship to fire on the Nazis.

Web Exclusive

Mr. Rogers and George Floyd

by Richard Levick | Wed, 05/26/2021 - 15:25

The Story of Satchel Paige

by Ryan Powers | Sat, 08/15/2020 - 08:59

Reader Responses: Hiroshima & Nagasaki Bombings

by Chase Brush | Thu, 08/13/2020 - 09:20

Hamilton's Other Half

by Bruce Watson | Tue, 08/04/2020 - 12:50

Reader Responses: Confederates Honored by the U.S. Army

by Chase Brush | Mon, 06/15/2020 - 15:54

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History around the web

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.

How a Lincoln-Douglass Debate Led to Historic Discovery, by Ted Mann Texting exchange by two professors led to Frederick Douglass letter on Emancipation Memorial

In 'Hamilton', Angelica Schuyler's husband is called 'not a lot of fun.' Here's his real story, by Daryl Austin While the play's creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, has delivered Hamilton his long-overdue public acclaim, many other historical figures are overlooked or represented in a less-than-flattering manner throughout the production.

Today in History

18th amendment ratified

Nebraska becomes the 36th state to ratify the Eighteenth Amendment, establishing prohibition in the United States. The ban on alcohol would go into effect a year later, on January 20, 1920.
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General Halleck born

Union General Henry Halleck is born in Westernville, New York. Halleck, nicknamed "Old Brains", served as general-in-chief of the Union Army for two years but frequently quarreled with other generals such as George McClellan. Halleck oversaw the total war campaigns waged by Generals Grant and Sherman in the last years of the Civil War.
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Pendleton Civil Service Act

President Chester A. Arthur signs the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act into law, instituting the largest civil service reform in American history. Following the assassination of President Garfield in 1881, Arthur became a major proponent of a merit-based bureaucracy.
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