The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, aka NASA, has been at the forefront of science, technology, and space exploration since 1958. Its work remains an inspiration to millions of people around the...
The earliest major industrial project in the United States’ history, the Erie Canal connected East to West by water and enabled a new era of commerce, trade, and...
The Department of Transportation ensures the equitable and safe transport of goods and people along our roads, railways, skies, waterways and airspace. So, why did it take so long to come into...
Many government departments have a focused mission, but the Department of the Interior is known as the “Department of Everything Else.” So what are its responsibilities and how does it keep our country in...
The National Archives and Records Administration is an independent federal agency dedicated to the preservation of historic government records. With storage facilities across the United States, NARA’s contents give us an insight into our country’s...
The War of 1812 was a major conflict between the United States and Great Britain for control of the Northern Frontier. Often described as the second war of independence, in reality it was caused in large part by the ineffective foreign policies of two U.S....
Congressional Investigations have uncovered some serious wrongdoing over the past 200 years. But where does Congress get the power to conduct investigations and how has it used that power throughout U.S....
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the right to free speech. But when student journalists in Missouri wrote a series of articles on teen sex and divorce in 1983, their school appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court for the right to censor the content –...
During the War of 1812, British forces stormed into Washington, D.C. and set fire to the White House and other federal buildings. Rather than dent U.S. morale, the sacking of Washington served to galvanize the population against the...
The suspenseful 1948 presidential election exposed the consequences of flawed polls, as Truman’s astonishing victory upended expectations and forever changed how pollsters make...
The Pentagon Papers revealed how the U.S. government had lied to the public about its involvement in the Vietnam War. Leaked by the New York Times, this opened the door for future whistleblowers to expose the...
In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt’s bold creation of a new political party, the Bull Moose Party, challenged rivals Taft and Wilson, forever altering the political landscape of the United...
A succession of presidents and their families have kept animals at the White House, some more unusual than others, including sheep, a raccoon, a snake, and of course, cats and...
The Presidential Election of 1876 was considered a foregone conclusion, with Democrat Samuel J. Tilden sure to defeat Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, but disputed Southern electoral votes led to an outcome that nobody...
In 1961, a gift from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to President John F. Kennedy, the adorable pooch Pushinka, brought the men closer together. Did puppy diplomacy prevent an all-out nuclear...
The Presidential Election of 1860 proved the most divisive in U.S. history, with the election of Abraham Lincoln triggering the secession of Southern states. But how did it play out at the...
The Great American Songbook, a collection of jazz standards and show tunes created by talented songwriters in early 20th century New York, provided solace and joy during difficult times in U.S....
In the Presidential Election of 1824, five men from one party were up for the job. It was left to the House of Representatives to figure out a winner – and the aftermath led to the modern two-party...
