Jacqueline Kennedy at the launching of the USS Lafayette submarine.

Passengers aboard the RMS Mauretania 2 (launched in 1938).

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 02: Ambassador Caroline Kennedy speaks at American Visionary: John F. Kennedy's Life and Times debut gala at Smithsonian American Art Museum on May 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images for WS Productions)

Robert F. Kennedy. (Credit: Bill Eppridge/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, hanging a gold medal around  18-year-old Adonis Brown of Baltimore after winning the mile run in 5 minutes, 12 seconds in the 1972 International Special Olympics in Los Angeles.

A tow truck pulling Senator Edward Kennedy's car out of Poucha Pond after the accident on Chappaquiddick Island that killed Mary Jo Kopechne. (Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

United States Senator and member of the Democratic Party, Edward 'Ted' Kennedy (1932- 2009) speaking at a press conference in Boston, Massachusetts, 9th January 1979. (Photo by Barbara Alper/Getty Images)

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HISTORY

America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

The 21st century saw the dawn of the war on terrorism, as the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing dramatically changed society. Economic issues moved to the forefront during the Great Recession. The COVID-19 pandemic upended lives and economies around the world. Awareness of social inequality grew as the killings of Black Americans, including Trayvon Martin and George Floyd, spurred widespread protests.

21st Century

The 1960s was one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in world history. The era was marked by the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and antiwar protests, countercultural movements, political assassinations and the emerging "generation gap."

1960s

Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.

Crime

The U.S. government, with its three branches of government and a system of checks and balances, is responsible for governing the 50 states and all districts and territories of the United States.

U.S. Government and Politics

The 1990s is often remembered as a decade of relative peace and prosperity: The Soviet Union fell, ending the decades-long Cold War, and the rise of the Internet ushered in a radical new era of communication, business and entertainment. However, the decade was not without violence and tragedy, including the Bosnian genocide, the Rodney King beating and subsequent L.A. Riots, and the bombing of the World Trade Center. The Columbine High School shooting marked a solemn chapter in gun violence, and the devastatingly deadly Oklahoma City bombing by a domestic terrorist followed lethal standoffs between federal agents and armed civilians at Ruby Ridge, Idaho and Waco, Texas.

1990s

Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art, literature and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.

Art, Literature and Film History

1999

1991

1986

2009

Martha Washington set many standards for American First Ladies, but from Abigail Adams and Eleanor Roosevelt to Hillary Clinton and Melania Trump, each has left her mark on the office.

Kennedy Family

Topics

Joseph Kennedy Jr

Caroline Kennedy

Ted Kennedy

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Stories

The Kennedy Family Secret That Helped Inspire the Special Olympics

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Robert F. Kennedy

Ted Kennedy’s Chappaquiddick Incident: What Really Happened

How Bobby Kennedy Started the War on Gangs

This Day in History

Ted Kennedy, “liberal lion of the Senate,” dies at 77

JFK Jr. killed in plane crash

Maria Shriver marries Arnold Schwarzenegger

William Kennedy Smith’s rape trial begins