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How an Enslaved Man Helped Jack Daniel Develop His Famous Whiskey
Jack Daniel’s stands as one of the most iconic American brands and most popular spirits in the world. Yet while the whiskey and its eponymous founder have become dominant names in American liquor lore, the person perhaps most responsible for its success—an enslaved man named ...read more
How Las Vegas Became a Gambling Mecca
Las Vegas was a small railroad town when Nevada formally established it in 1905. Five years after its founding, the U.S. census recorded only 800 residents. Yet by the 1950s, it was known as a gambling tourist haven, where visitors could see a show with celebrities like Frank ...read more
How an Anti-Obscenity Crusader Policed America's Mail for Decades
Anthony Comstock knew obscenity when he saw it, and the famous anti-vice crusader saw it everywhere. From the 1870s into the early 20th century, the dry goods salesman-turned-self-appointed-censor was a man on a mission—to impose his sense of morality on what Americans read, saw ...read more
How President Buchanan Deepened Divisions Over Slavery Before the Civil War
When James Buchanan gave his inaugural address on March 4, 1857, he was remarkably optimistic that the United States’ debate over slavery was about to end. Knowing that the Supreme Court would soon rule against Dred Scott—a man who’d escaped enslavement in the south only to be ...read more
How the Neutral Countries in World War II Weren't So Neutral
Two days after Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany, and World War II erupted. Dozens of countries, still recovering from the horrors of World War I, tried to remain neutral to avoid invasion and more bloodshed. But a declaration ...read more
The Buffalo Soldiers at San Juan Hill: What Really Happened?
It remains one of the most mythologized images of the Spanish-American war: Theodore Roosevelt charging on horseback, leading his Rough Rider volunteers up Cuba’s San Juan Hill through the smoke and chaos of battle to claim a decisive victory. Carefully crafted by Roosevelt ...read more
7 Surprising Facts About the Nuclear Bomb Tests at Bikini Atoll
In November 1945, just a few months after atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II, U.S. military leaders began planning additional nuclear weapons tests. The first location that they picked to stage a blast was a ...read more
10 of the Most Consequential Executive Orders and Proclamations in Presidential History
Executive orders aren’t mentioned once in the U.S. Constitution, but presidents starting with George Washington have used executive orders and proclamations in order to bypass Congress and quickly exercise the independent power of their office. Franklin D. Roosevelt is the ...read more
Teddy Roosevelt Championed Conservation Efforts—That Also Displaced Native Americans
Theodore Roosevelt is known as the “conservation president” for his undaunted efforts, at the dawn of the 20th century, to shield wildlife and public lands from development. His efforts helped establish America’s national park and forestry services, putting more than 200 million ...read more
Henry Kissinger’s Controversial Role in the Vietnam War
As advisor to President John F. Kennedy, then national security advisor (1969-75) and secretary of state (1973-77) to President Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger was responsible for making major decisions related to the Vietnam War. He kept the U.S. bombing of Cambodia a secret from ...read more
This Woman Built a Formidable Gambling Empire in 1920s Harlem
Madame Stephanie St. Clair was a Harlem entrepreneur with a head for numbers and a skill for minting cash—even during the Great Depression. But like most African Americans in the early 20th century, she found herself barred from traditional, white-dominated financial businesses ...read more
Steps the Supreme Court Takes to Reach a Decision
When the Supreme Court of the United States agrees to hear a case, the only part of the process that’s open to the public are the oral arguments. The rest of the deliberations happen behind closed doors between the nine justices and their teams of law clerks. So how exactly do ...read more
Hawaii’s Long Road to Becoming America’s 50th State
More than 60 years after the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, Hawaii (Native spelling: Hawaiʻi) officially became America’s 50th state on August 21, 1959. The cluster of islands, situated some 2,400 miles off the U.S. mainland in the South Pacific, followed Alaska, the 49th ...read more
How Theodore Roosevelt Changed the Way America Operated in the World
When Theodore Roosevelt succeeded William McKinley as president in 1901, he was aware that America was in a different international position than it had been just a few years earlier. The United States had been a continental empire since its founding, but as a result of the ...read more
Inside Theodore Roosevelt's Gilded Age Upbringing
A family fortune, beloved father and determination to overcome childhood infirmities set young Theodore Roosevelt on course to become the 26th president of the United States. Born into one of New York City’s wealthiest clans on October 27, 1858, Roosevelt was called “as sweet and ...read more