America Explained
Who was Daniel Webster?
Lawyer, orator and politician, Daniel Webster was one of the United States’ most famous and accomplished people in the 19th century. But what made him so special and how did he help change America?
What is the Mayflower Compact?
A short agreement by the Pilgrims and other colonists on board the Mayflower set in motion a system of government that inspired our country’s founding documents.
Muckrakers… or Investigative Journalists?
An essential part of any functioning democracy – the press helps to make governments accountable for their actions; but when the first investigative reporters started working in the United States, not everyone saw them as a good thing.
Museum of Artifacts That Made America
Madeleine Albright’s Brooches
The U.S.’s first female Secretary of State used her collection of brooches to get her point across when meeting with foreign leaders, a practice that became known as “Pin Diplomacy.”
Lunch Counter Stools
In 1960, four Black students staged a sit-in in Greensboro, North Carolina to protest against racial segregation in the United States. The stools they sat on are the most visited artifacts at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.
The Cannon: How The Cannon Revolutionised The Way Battles Were Fought
Long range, high calibre weapons – the cannon helped propel the Union to victory. But how did the technological advances that took place during the Civil War change the game?
Hidden Figures
Yarrow Mamout: From Slavery to Financier
African Muslim Yarrow Mamout rose from a life of slavery to become a popular businessman in Washington, D.C. Artist Charles Willson Peale painted his portrait and discovered his incredible story.
Sandra Day O’Connor: “Don’t Take the Bait”
The first female justice in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 191-year history, Sandra Day O’Connor succeeded in a man’s world by never letting sexism stand in her way.
Martha Gellhorn: The War Correspondent who Covered D-Day
One of the United States’ finest war correspondents, Martha Gellhorn battled sexism and misogyny to report on the D-Day landings during the Second World War.
Women and the American Story
Katherine Johnson: Trailblazing NASA Mathematician
At a time when American space exploration was dominated by men, mathematician Katherine Johnson broke through gender and racial barriers to help change our understanding of the cosmos forever.
Patsy Mink: Groundbreaking Congresswoman
What do you think of when you picture Title IX? Inequality has plagued America’s youth for generations. Patsy Mink, a then young Japanese-American, vowed to change the system forever.
Pauli Murray: Breaking Barriers of Race and Gender
As a queer Black lawyer, poet and civil rights activist, Pauli Murray understood how our different identities can overlap to create multiple levels of discrimination. Her groundbreaking work in championing equality for all helped change America for the better.
David Pharaoh Asserts Indigenous Rights
Montaukett leader David Pharaoh fought for indigenous land rights – and established a lasting legacy as the founder of America’s first Montaukett school.
Wong Kim Ark’s Fight for Birthright Citizenship
By taking on the US government and winning, Wong Kim Ark ensured that the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution granted citizenship to every American by birth, regardless of their race or ethnicity.
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s Pursuit of Absolute Equality
The story of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper: writer, abolitionist and early pioneer of the concept of intersectionality,
Art That Changed America
The Federal Art Project and The New Deal
Thanks to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s ambitious New Deal plan, American artists were able to keep working during the Great Depression. The work they produced remains a key part of the American landscape.
Indigenous North American Tattoos
To Indigenous North Americans, tattoos aren’t just decorative, they’re also sacred, rich in artistry and meaning, and of huge social, cultural and religious significance.
How Art Saved Yellowstone National Park
The first dedicated National Park anywhere in the world, Yellowstone attracts millions of visitors every year. It was saved for posterity by the work of two pioneering artists.
Wild Wild West
John Wesley Powell: Wild West Explorer
Despite losing an arm in the US Civil War, John Wesley Powell was one of the great explorers of the American West, and made history as the man who mapped the Grand Canyon.
Remember the Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo has become the stuff of legend – when 200 brave Texan fighters took a stand against a Mexican force of thousands. But there’s more to the story than meets the eye.
Spanish Flu and the Pandemic Lockdown of 1918
The Spanish Flu was one of the deadliest pandemics the world has ever seen – so how was one sleepy Colorado town able to escape unscathed?
Power to the People
The Explosive Story of Dynamite Hill
When Black residents moved into one neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama, White supremacists unleashed a wave of terror against the community.
The Birmingham Childrens’ Crusade
In 1963, school children from Birmingham, Alabama skipped class to demonstrate for racial equality. Met with police violence, they helped to bring about significant change.
The Fire that Sparked a Workplace Revolution
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Tragedy took the lives of 146 workers – and exposed a shocking lack of workplace health and safety laws in New York State.
Slavery in the Presidents’ Neighborhood
Elizabeth Keckly: From Slavery to the White House
She was enslaved at birth – but became the first lady’s favorite dressmaker and the author of a sensational memoir that shocked the nation. So who was Elizabeth Keckly?
The Enslaved Household of Thomas Jefferson
This is the story of Ursula, Edith and Frances – three teenagers who Thomas Jefferson brought to the White House to train as his enslaved personal chefs.
Things You Didn’t Know
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Constructed after the First World War, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier stands as a memorial to all those U.S. service members whose remains were never identified.
Native American Code Talkers
Native American Code Talkers used their own indigenous dialects to bamboozle enemy code breakers and help Allied forces to win two World Wars.
Greenbrier Resort: The Secret Nuclear Bunker
The Greenbrier Bunker was constructed to protect Congress from nuclear annihilation. It’s one of America’s longest-kept secrets.
Academy of American Democracy
Voting in Ancient Athens
The United States is a representative democracy where people vote for politicians to govern on their behalf – but voting in the direct democracy of ancient Athens was a very different process.
Race in Ancient Greece
We often think of ancient Greek society as White, but it was a lot more diverse than we give it credit for.
Elections in the United States
How do elections actually work in the United States?
Speeches That Changed America
George W Bush: Speech After September 11
President George W. Bush delivers a much anticipated speech to a Joint Session of Congress, outlining America’s reaction to the unprecedented atrocity.
Patrick Henry – Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death
Patrick Henry delivers a speech on the rights of the colonies before the Second Virginia Assembly. His words ‘give me liberty or give me death’ would become the war cry of the revolution.
Shirley Chisholm – Equal Rights for Women Speech
Shirley Chisholm, the first African American Woman elected to Congress, addresses the US House of Representatives to argue in support of a controversial women’s rights bill; the Equal Rights Amendment.