History of Now

Black Tweets Matter

How the tumultuous, hilarious, wide-ranging chat party on Twitter changed the face of activism in America

Scenes from the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.

The Rise of the Modern Sportswoman

Women have long fought against the assumption that they are weaker than men, and the battle isn’t over yet

President Ronald Reagan, just moments before he was shot by John Hinckley

The Media Learned Nothing After Misreporting the Reagan Assassination Attempt

As the shooter John Hinckley returns to life outside of imprisonment, it’s worth looking back at every thing the media got wrong that day

Pankration scene: the pankriatiast on the right tries to gouge his opponent's eye; the umpire is about to strike him for this foul.

The Ancient History of Cheating in the Olympics

Punishment for cheating and bribery in the Olympics of Ancient Greece could include fines, public flogging and statewide bans from competition

Concerns about patronage under the Grant Administration inspired Horace Greeley (depicted above Grant's left shoulder) to run for President.

The Only Time a Major Party Embraced a Third-Party Candidate for President

Horace Greeley was the choice of the splinter grip named the Liberal Republican Party and that of the Democrats

Earliest known photograph of the White House. The image was taken in 1846 by John Plumbe during the administration of James K. Polk.

The White House Was, in Fact, Built by Enslaved Labor

Along with the Capitol and other iconic buildings in Washington, D.C.

Madame President

The History of Women Presidents in Film

Why the science-fiction genre was the first to imagine a female commander-in-chief

What the Candidates (and Journalists) Can Learn From the 1948 Democratic Convention

The first time television was beamed into millions of homes meant that presidential politics would have to change

Republican Convention in session, Cleveland Public Auditorium, 1924

When the GOP Picked a Nominee for Vice President, Only to Be Rejected

Their unrequited choice seemed utterly uninterested in the role

Crowd outside the 1924 Republican National Convention in Cleveland listen to speeches broadcast from inside the hall via an early “public address system.”

Women Ruled the Floor When the GOP First Came to Cleveland

The 1924 Convention was the first to feature female delegates, and they made their presence known

By the “dawn’s early light,” Key saw the huge garrison flag, now on view at the National Museum of American History, waving above Fort McHenry and he realized that the Americans had survived the battle and stopped the enemy advance.

Where’s the Debate on Francis Scott Key’s Slave-Holding Legacy?

During his lifetime, abolitionists ridiculed Key’s words, sneering that America was more like the “Land of the Free and Home of the Oppressed”

A map shows the distribution of the slave population in the Southern states of the United States, based on the 1860 census.

The Surprising History of the Infographic

Early iterations saved soldiers' lives, debunked myths about slavery and helped Americans settle the frontier

The House of Representatives' rostrum has been the site of brawls, debates and sit-ins.

A Brief History of Congressional Carpets

There's more to the House floor than meets the eye

A portrait photograph of Victoria Woodhull.

Victoria Woodhull Ran for President Before Women Had the Right to Vote

Her 1872 campaign platform focused on women’s rights and sexual freedom

Lee Harvey Oswald, center, handing out fliers. According to a conspiracy theory floated by the National Enquirer, the unidentified man on the left wearing a black tie is the father of Senator Ted Cruz.

A Brief History of Lee Harvey Oswald's Connection to Cuba

For over 50 years, conspiracy theorists have linked JFK’s assassin to Fidel Castro’s Cuba

The slogan “unbought and unbossed” appeared on Chisholm’s campaign posters, one of which resides in the collections of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

'Unbought and Unbossed': When a Black Woman Ran for the White House

The congresswoman tried to win the White House by consolidating the Black vote and the women's vote, but she ran into trouble

The split in the Whig party over slavery spelled its doom.

What Can the Collapse of the Whig Party Tell Us About Today’s Politics?

Is the Republican party on the verge of catastrophe? Probably not, if history is any indicator

Jackson was the first candidate who successfully ran an anti-establishment presidential campaign

Andrew Jackson, America’s Original Anti-Establishment Candidate

The seventh president raged against many of the same machines that are now engulfing this year’s election

Newspapers chronicled gun incidents, referring to them as "melancholy accidents"

When Newspapers Reported on Gun Deaths as "Melancholy Accidents"

A historian explains how a curious phrase used by the American press caught his eye and became the inspiration for his new book

From the desk of Susan B. Anthony, this inkstand was used by the women's rights advocate to produce the articles she wrote for her newspaper The Revolution.

For Susan B. Anthony, Getting Support for Her 'Revolution' Meant Taking on an Unusual Ally

Suffragists Anthony and Cady Stanton found common cause in a wealthy man named George Francis Train who helped to fund their newspaper

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