History | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/history/RSS feed for HistoryenThu, 24 Jul 2025 16:05:00 +0000Los Angeles' 1936 'Bum Blockade' Targeted American Migrants Fleeing Poverty and Drought During the Great Depressionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/los-angeles-1936-bum-blockade-targeted-american-migrants-fleeing-poverty-and-drought-during-the-great-depression-180987022/The two-month patrol stopped supposedly "suspicious" individuals from crossing into California from other states. But its execution was uneven, and the initiative proved controversialThu, 24 Jul 2025 16:05:00 +0000How Do You Wear a Gown Made of Glass? Marvel at the Eye-Catching History of This Unlikely Fashion Trendhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-do-you-wear-a-gown-made-of-glass-marvel-at-the-eye-catching-history-of-this-unlikely-fashion-trend-180986998/In the 20th century, actresses and royals alike donned delicate dresses woven with spun-glass threads. More recently, celebrities have sported impractically fragile handbags on the red carpetTue, 22 Jul 2025 11:15:00 +0000Why 18th-Century Americans Were Just as Obsessed With Their Genealogy as We Are Todayhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/why-18th-century-americans-were-just-as-obsessed-with-their-genealogy-as-we-are-today-180986958/People living in British America and later the nascent United States recorded their family histories in needlework samplers, notebooks and newspapersThu, 17 Jul 2025 11:15:00 +0000How a Relentless, 484-Mile March From Virginia to Massachusetts Fueled the Legend of the Dashing Frontier Riflemanhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-a-relentless-484-mile-march-from-virginia-to-massachusetts-fueled-the-legend-of-the-dashing-frontier-rifleman-180986953/In the early months of the American Revolution, Daniel Morgan and his soldiers raced north to join the Continental Army during the so-called Beeline MarchTue, 15 Jul 2025 19:35:22 +0000How Underwater Archaeology Brings Secrets to the Surface, From Lost Shipwrecks to Submerged Citieshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-underwater-archaeology-brings-secrets-to-the-surface-from-lost-shipwrecks-to-submerged-cities-180986950/An immersive new exhibition at the Intrepid Museum in New York City spotlights the science and technology behind the disciplineThu, 10 Jul 2025 11:15:00 +0000How Women in New Jersey Gained—and Lost—the Right to Vote More Than a Century Before the 19th Amendment Granted Suffrage Nationwidehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-women-in-new-jersey-gained-and-lostthe-right-to-vote-more-than-a-century-before-the-19th-amendment-granted-suffrage-nationwide-180986930/Vague phrasing in the state’s Revolutionary-era Constitution enfranchised women who met specific property requirements. A 1790 law explicitly allowed female suffrage, but this privilege was revoked in 1807Tue, 08 Jul 2025 15:03:49 +0000How a Deadly Circus Fire on the 'Day the Clowns Cried' Traumatized a Community—and Led to Lasting Safety Reformshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-a-deadly-circus-fire-on-the-day-the-clowns-cried-traumatized-a-community-and-led-to-lasting-safety-reforms-180986888/On July 6, 1944, a blaze broke out at a Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey show in Hartford, Connecticut. At least 167 people died, and hundreds were injuredThu, 03 Jul 2025 11:15:00 +0000These Daring Revolutionary-Era Artists Promoted the Patriot Cause From the Heart of Enemy Territoryhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/these-daring-revolutionary-era-artists-promoted-the-patriot-cause-from-the-heart-of-enemy-territory-180986876/A new book explores how painters, sculptors and writers, especially women and people of color, used their craft to advocate for American independence while living in George III's capital cityTue, 01 Jul 2025 10:00:00 +0000With Their Bravery During World War I, These Daring American Women Doctors Proved Their Might to Folks Back Homehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/with-bravery-during-world-war-i-these-daring-american-women-doctors-proved-their-might-180986812/As their right to vote was debated in the States, a remarkable group of 74 physicians and support staff sailed to war-torn Europe to help those in needFri, 27 Jun 2025 11:00:00 +0000America Deported Her for Publishing a Book Titled 'Lesbian Love.' Years Later, She Was Murdered by the Nazis for Being Jewishhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/america-deported-her-for-publishing-a-book-titled-lesbian-love-years-later-she-was-murdered-by-the-nazis-for-being-jewish-180986864/Eve Adams, an immigrant and the proprietor of a 1920s lesbian tearoom, was imprisoned for disorderly conduct and obscenity, then sent back to Europe, where she became a target of the HolocaustThu, 26 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000A Confederate Raider Fired the Final Shots of the Civil War in the Arctic, Two and a Half Months After Robert E. Lee Surrenderedhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-confederate-raider-fired-the-final-shots-of-the-civil-war-in-the-arctic-two-and-a-half-months-after-robert-e-lee-surrendered-180986847/The CSS "Shenandoah" only learned of the Confederacy's defeat in the summer of 1865. That June, the cruiser's crew sank 24 American merchant vessels, unaware that the conflict had already endedMon, 23 Jun 2025 12:48:39 +0000The Man Who Invented the Modern Zoo Tested Out His Ideas on People Firsthttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-man-who-invented-the-modern-zoo-tested-out-his-ideas-on-people-first-180986839/Carl Hagenbeck believed that animals should be housed in habitats that mimicked their natural environment. Earlier, he'd followed the same guiding philosophy when exhibiting Indigenous people in "human zoos"Fri, 20 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000Tattered Pages Discovered in Storage Reveal an Enslaved Man's Daring Bid for Freedom—and His Second Life at Seahttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/tattered-pages-discovered-in-storage-reveal-an-enslaved-mans-daring-bid-for-freedom-and-his-second-life-at-sea-180986838/Historians are investigating the haunting handwritten manuscript, which chronicles Thomas White's escape from slavery in Maryland and adventures around the world nearly 200 years agoWed, 18 Jun 2025 18:56:17 +0000This Forgotten Founding Father Hoped to 'Die Up to My Knees in Blood' in the Fight for American Independence. He Got His Wishhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-forgotten-founding-father-hoped-to-die-up-to-my-knees-in-blood-in-the-fight-for-american-independence-he-got-his-wish-180986795/Joseph Warren was a key leader of the American Revolution, mobilizing troops and managing a circle of spies. But he's mainly remembered for his death at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775Tue, 17 Jun 2025 13:02:33 +0000This Exiled Romanov Princess Fled the Bloodshed of the Russian Revolution and Reinvented Herself as a Fashion Iconhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-exiled-romanov-princess-fled-the-bloodshed-of-the-russian-revolution-and-reinvented-herself-as-a-fashion-icon-180986776/A new exhibition spotlights Natalia Pavlovna Paley, the granddaughter of a czar. She built a new life for herself in France and the U.S., appearing in films and on the pages of glossy magazinesFri, 13 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000Yemen’s Al-Qahira Castle Survived Centuries of War and Neglect. Can It Survive Its Own Restoration?https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/yemens-al-qahira-castle-survived-centuries-of-war-and-neglect-can-it-survive-its-own-restoration-180986777/With funding for preserving the historic site in jeopardy, local officials are wondering what will come next for the 800-year-old structureThu, 12 Jun 2025 12:00:00 +0000How America's Forgotten Second National Park Lost Its Federal Status—and Gained a New Lease on Life as a State Parkhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-americas-forgotten-second-national-park-lost-its-federal-statusand-gained-a-new-lease-on-life-as-a-state-park-180986751/Much of Mackinac Island was designated as a national park in 1875, but it proved to be too expensive for the government to maintain, so it was transferred to the State of Michigan in 1895Mon, 09 Jun 2025 13:13:27 +0000Tens of Thousands Were Treated for a Deadly Disease While Confined to Psychiatric Hospitals on These Two Venetian Islandshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/tens-thousands-were-treated-for-deadly-disease-while-confined-psychiatric-hospitals-these-two-venetian-islands-180986734/In the 19th and 20th centuries, San Servolo and San Clemente housed patients suffering from pellagrous insanity, a condition caused by a vitamin deficiencyFri, 06 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000Meet the Defiant Loyalists Who Paid Dearly for Choosing the Wrong Side in the American Revolutionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/meet-the-defiant-loyalists-who-paid-dearly-for-choosing-the-wrong-side-in-the-american-revolution-180986716/American colonists who aligned with the British lost their lands, their reputations and sometimes even their livesWed, 04 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000The Hidden History of the Nazi U-Boats That Prowled the Gulf Coast, Bringing World War II to America's Shoreshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-hidden-history-of-the-nazi-u-boats-that-prowled-the-gulf-coast-bringing-world-war-ii-to-americas-shores-180986707/Between 1942 and 1943, German submarines sank 56 Allied ships in the region and damaged another 14, losing just one of their own in the processMon, 02 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000The Stunning Search for the Remains of Fallen WWII Airmenhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-stunning-search-for-the-remains-of-fallen-wwii-airmen-180986697/After three crewmen were swallowed up by the Pacific at the end of World War II, a modern-day rescue effort went to find themThu, 29 May 2025 11:30:00 +0000From Peasant Fodder to Fine Dining, Feast on the Tasty History of How Snails and Oysters Became Luxury Foodshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/from-peasant-fodder-to-fine-dining-feast-the-tasty-history-of-how-snails-and-oysters-became-luxury-foods-180986695/Humans have eaten mollusks for millennia, but they weren't always viewed as elite treatsThu, 29 May 2025 10:00:00 +0000Would You Wear a Wedding Dress Made of Disposable Paper? These 1960s Brides Donned Them to Save Money—and Make a Daring Fashion Statementhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/would-you-wear-a-wedding-dress-made-of-disposable-paper-these-1960s-brides-donned-them-to-save-moneyand-make-a-daring-fashion-statement-180986663/Created with synthetic textiles, the "nonwoven" gowns could be shortened for the reception or easily packed away for the honeymoonTue, 27 May 2025 13:19:16 +0000