U.S. Government and Politics

Pass the Purell and explore eight of history’s most famous handshakes.

From surprise candidates to delegate fistfights, here are five things you may not know about the history of nominating conventions.

Check out nine facts about the complex that the U.S. Department of Defense calls home.

Explore eight surprising facts about American money.

On Saturday, the worlds of Washington, D.C. and Hollywood will once again collide as the nation’s capital plays host to the annual affair.

Learn the surprising facts behind the deaths of six politicians who died in the line of duty.

Find out seven surprising facts about how the nation’s highest court works—and how it’s changed over the years.

During and after the Revolutionary War, eight different locales served as seats of American power.

Check out 10 surprising facts about the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Explore facts about the seafaring branch of the U.S. armed forces, from its humble beginnings during the Revolutionary War to its arrival as a world powerhouse.

Get the facts about nine political parties now consigned to the historic graveyard.

Explore some fascinating facts about the first woman elected to Congress in the U.S.

From an independent Vermont to the 25-day California Republic, get the facts on six flash-in-the-pan nations from American history.

From a 'mediocre' nominee to the 1980s fight that brought the phrase 'Borked' into the lexicon, these are some of the most fiercely fought confirmation battles in the high court's history.

From a 'bear lunch counter' to a less-than-faithful Old Faithful, here are some surprising things to know about America’s first national park.

Get the story behind America's domestic intelligence agency.

Stamps have often invited debate—usually for reasons the post office never anticipated.

The framers referred to Congress as the “first branch” of government—and they established a wide range of powers for both the House and Senate.

Having a single candidate by the time of a party's convention has been a key stepping stone for victory. But it hasn't always worked out that way.

Answers to top questions about the executive residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The filibuster has blocked voting reform, anti-lynching bills and an amendment to abolish the Electoral College.

There have been 15 impeached governors in U.S. history, but only eight were convicted of their crimes.

These directives, which carry the force of law, altered the course of history and changed the fabric of American life.

The US has long facilitated regime change to support its own strategic and business interests.

Among the handful of U.S. presidential rematches, the candidate who lost the first round more often came back to win.

These presidents (including one who later became very unpopular) arrived at the White House with overwhelming margins of victory.

When scandalous news emerged in the final weeks of these presidential campaigns, election outcomes were at stake.

From songs to toys to cigarette packs, presidential candidates have found creative ways to reach the public.

The House approved a constitutional amendment to dismantle the indirect voting system, but it was killed in the Senate by a filibuster.

In the 19th century there were no primaries—candidates were selected during each party’s convention.

Congress has the constitutional power to "declare war," but U.S. presidents have long initiated military action without it.

Take a look back at a proposal to build a massive U.N. headquarters in the remote Black Hills of South Dakota.

She started as a clerk-typist, but when she got to the OSS Emergency Sea Rescue Equipment Section, she began to do more significant work.

William Jennings Bryan's campaign for the presidency courted the rural vote. Bryan lost—but lines were drawn.

One previous president called it 'Shangri-La.'

The tradition, bestowed as a final tribute, began in 1852, with the death of Henry Clay.

Voter turnout rates peaked in the 1870s and decreased in the 20th century.

Initially, the gap between Election Day and Inauguration Day was even longer.

Larger states wanted congressional representation based on population, while smaller states wanted equal representation. They met in the middle.

A Senate impeachment trial is modeled on the criminal trial process—except the Supreme Court chief justice presides and senators act as jurors.

The fateful events at Chappaquiddick ended Mary Jo Kopechne’s life and derailed Ted Kennedy’s presidential ambitions for good.

Appointed by a Republican president, the Associate Justice’s views on the death penalty and affirmative action shifted dramatically over time.

And what about pledged and unpledged delegates?

The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian studied presidential leadership during times of national strife. These six videos reveal her top takeaways.

The law was created in the wake of a scandal involving FDR and federal employees of the Works Progress Administration.

Few observers expected the issue of whether Clarence Thomas should serve on the U.S. Supreme Court to become a firestorm—and a national referendum on sexual harassment.

The claim that “every vote counts” is especially true in swing states. And such states have been in play since the election of the nation's second president.

After 10 days of bruising battle, U.S. forces took the hill, only to abandon it days later. Sniper fire was so intense, one soldier called it 'a human meat grinder.'

Despite a proud cadre of high-ranking female intelligence officers, declassified documents reveal the agency's long struggle with women as agents.

In duking it out with incumbent Gerald Ford over undecided GOP delegates, Reagan burnished his rising star.

"Fanny Hill" was taboo for over 200 years, making it one of the most famous banned books in history.

A lifetime appointment comes with some caveats.

Colin Powell served two combat tours in the Vietnam conflict and earned three medals for his service.

Known for her judicial restraint and sharp legal mind, Ginsburg delivered some of the Supreme Court’s most influential majority opinions.

The answer lies with America’s 19th-century farmers.

The Constitution doesn't specify how many justices should serve on the Court—in fact, that number fluctuated until 1869.

Why the elephant and the donkey?

From shouting candidates' names, to punching cards to electronic scanning, the nature of voting has a long, sometimes bumpy history in the United States.

A century-old law gives the federal government the right to intervene in certain labor disputes.

More than a dozen sitting presidents have faced Congressional censure, but the official reprimands do not carry the weight of law.

Joseph McCarthy's brand of populism proved much darker than, say, Ronald Reagan's.

Top Secret became an official government category in 1951. Here's what qualifies documents as classified—and how they're supposed to be handled.

When his New Deal legislation kept getting struck down, FDR proposed a law targeting justices over the age of 70.

President Harry Truman established the medal, which was then expanded to honor Americans for a wide range of service and achievements.

It has to do with seating arrangements.

He was a decorated, if at times reckless, fighter pilot who conducted nearly two dozen bombing runs in Vietnam before being shot down, captured and tortured.

The uncomfortable spectacle of the hearings reverberated across the nation and had lasting consequences.

The framers of the Constitution intentionally made it difficult to remove a president from office.

As Florida's electoral votes became too close to call, controversy ensued over hanging chads, dimpled chads and butterfly bullets.

Bush v. Gore was no ordinary lawsuit—and it was the vote cast by the first woman to serve as a Supreme Court justice that would decide the outcome.

From accepting a case to issuing a ruling, this is the process the nine Supreme Court justices follow in considering a case and reaching a decision.

As growing numbers of young men were conscripted to fight in the war in Vietnam, a hit song helped drive the push to lower the voting age to match the draft age.

America’s two-party political system makes it difficult for candidates from outside the Republican and Democratic parties to win presidential elections.

McCain endured more than five years as a POW in the Vietnam War and later, as a U.S. Senator and Republican presidential candidate, became known as a maverick.

That sucking sound back in 1992? The votes he spirited away from the mainstream parties.

Some 13,000 men and women worked for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the U.S. intelligence agency during World War II and the forerunner of the modern CIA.

Their paranoia led the agency to launch Operation CHAOS—in direct violation of its charter.

The roots of the event go back to the nation's founding. But when one president chose to avoid the spotlight, his precedent stuck—for nearly a century.

Since 1950, individual income taxes have been the primary source of revenue for the U.S. federal government.

In the 1820s, no one had heard about an anti-establishment candidate—until Andrew Jackson's campaign invented it.

As the U.S. military ends its policy of excluding women from combat, take a look back at women who have served on the front lines throughout history.

Following yesterday's decision to end Saturday mail delivery, find out more about the long history of the U.S. Postal Service.

How the Wounded Warrior Project helps veterans help themselves and then help others.

The Constitution's framers viewed political parties as a necessary evil.

“I’m not a ‘person,’" “I didn’t sign up for this,” and more bizarre excuses.

The Founding Fathers had to compromise when it came to devising a system to elect the president.

The 13th-century pact inspired the U.S. Founding Fathers as they wrote the documents that would shape the nation.

It's a protocol in which little-known cabinet secretaries suddenly find themselves babysitting the nuclear codes.

Government shutdowns can trigger painful economic consequences—and they only began happening in recent decades.

See how the structure of the nation's electoral system has long favored just two major parties.

Tariffs have been used to bring in revenue, protect domestic industries from foreign competition and cooperate or retaliate against other nations around the world.

In honor of Flag Day, check out some things you should know about the Stars and Stripes.

Explore some important differences between the two most highly trained, elite counterterrorism units in the U.S. military.

From the origins of Naval Special Warfare during World War II to the killing of Osama bin Laden, explore 10 key events and operations in the history of the Navy SEALs.

On August 6, 2011, insurgents shot down a Chinook transport helicopter in Afghanistan, killing all 38 people on board, including 15 Navy SEALS from Team Six’s Gold Squadron.

The style of politics that claims to speak for ordinary people and often stirs up distrust has risen up on both sides of the political spectrum throughout U.S. history.