How Crude Smallpox Inoculations Helped George Washington Win the WarAs commander of the Continental Army, Washington faced dual enemies: the British and smallpox. So he made a risky move.Read more
How Lincoln and Grant’s Partnership Won the Civil WarAbraham Lincoln was disappointed by most of his generals—but not Ulysses S. Grant.Read more
How FDR’s ‘Fireside Chats’ Helped Calm a Nation in CrisisAs Americans confronted the Great Depression and then World War II, FDR talked to Americans through radio broadcasts.Read more
How Detroit Factories Retooled During WWII to Defeat HitlerAmerica’s largest industry shifted from making cars to bombers, tanks and more—at unparalleled speed.Read more
11 Little‑Known Facts About George WashingtonHe’s America’s first president. The icon we all think we know. But in reality, he was a complicated human being.Read more
How George Washington Used Spies to Win the American RevolutionSecret agents, invisible ink, ciphers and codes—the gritty and dangerous underworld of the colonial insurgencyRead more
6 Strategies Harriet Tubman and Others Used to Escape Along the Underground RailroadFrom elaborate disguises to communicating in code to fighting back, enslaved people found multiple paths to freedom.Read more
10 Ways the Transcontinental Railroad Changed AmericaThe country, from its commerce to the environment to even its concept of time, was profoundly altered after the completion of the railroad’s 1,776 miles of track.Read more
Did New Deal Programs Help End the Great Depression?While the New Deal did have a lasting impact on the U.S. economy, other significant factors contributed toward ending the Great Depression by June 1938.Read more
How Did the Gold Standard Contribute to the Great Depression?A number of complex factors helped to create the conditions necessary for the Great Depression—adherence to the gold standard was just one of those factors.Read more
Why Frederick Douglass MattersHe kept America focused on hard truths because he believed it necessary to a strong democracy.Read more
7 Things You Might Not Know About the Hoover DamGet the facts on this engineering marvel, which was dedicated in September 1930.Read more
