History | History

When Did The Civil War End? Inside The Complicated History Of The Conflict’s Conclusion

Though Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, the Civil War officially ended on August 20, 1866.

History | History

Eyewitness Stories To The First Thanksgiving From The OG Pilgrims

These accounts of the first Thanksgiving at Plimoth Plantation in 1621 are, according to Pilgrim Hall Museum, the only two available primary sources about the event. Thanks to the “Brief History of Power” podcast for the source material. Listen to last ye

History | History

Today in History: Antisemitism, an American Problem | Exploring Hate | PBS

By Pamela S. Nadell When, if ever, Americans think of antisemitism, they think of the Holocaust.  By the time students find their way to my American University course in Holocaust history, they have read The Diary of Anne Frank and Elie Wiesel’s Night.

History | History

The French & Indian War: Setting the Stage for the American Revolution

The French and Indian War between Britain and France was part of a proto-World War, with conflict in Europe and North America, that set the stage for the American Revolution.

History | History

No, Thanksgiving Isn’t About ‘Genocide And Violence’

The Pilgrims didn’t bring ‘genocide’ to America. They barely brought themselves, with half of their company dying that first winter, in 1620-21.

History | History

55 Iconic American History Photos And The Stories Behind Them

From the Civil War to the Great Depression to the Space Race, these famous photos show American history as it really happened.

Miscellaneous | Interesting stories

How these areas became the U.S.

The Story of how the US/Mexico border got its shape.I learned all my video/animation skills on the internet. you can too. Go get two months of FREE Skillshar...

Miscellaneous | Interesting stories

Why Did Europeans Enslave Africans?

Viewers like you help make PBS (Thank you ????) . Support your local PBS Member Station here: https://to.pbs.org/DonateORIGSubscribe to Origin of Everything! h...

News | News

Trump Says Schools Teaching NY Times' 1619 Project 'Will Not Be Funded'

President Donald Trump on Sunday warned the Department of Education is investigating the use of the New York ...

Miscellaneous | Interesting stories

Inside the Museum of the American Revolution

Martha Teichner reports on the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, which features a look at how the war changed life for African Americans and Native Americans

History | History

45 Amazing Facts About All 44 American Presidents | Mental Floss

Read on to discover which American president wanted to be a concert violinist, which carried a dictionary around in his pocket, and who burned his official White House portrait.

History | History

8 Things to Know about Crispus Attucks. The First Man Killed In The American Revolution.

Test your knowledge with amazing and interesting facts, trivia, quizzes, and brain teaser games on MentalFloss.com.

The first American killed in the American Revolution was a black man.

History | History

Americans Have Almost Entirely Forgotten Their History

History blindness, and a lack of basic civic knowledge, is unhealthy for a free country. Today, we are too busy tearing down our history than learning from it. That needs to change.

Americans are appallingly ignorant of our own history. I can probably count on one hand how many people I know who know the absolute basics.

History | History

New Discovery Could Finally Solve Creepy Mystery Of America's 'Lost Colony'

It was one of the most profound archeolgical discoveries before it was debunked. But new research may prove the authenticty once and for all.

History | History

10 Pivotal Facts About the French and Indian War | Mental Floss

Test your knowledge with amazing and interesting facts, trivia, quizzes, and brain teaser games on MentalFloss.com.

History | History

Betsy Ross Probably Didn't Sew the First Flag | Mental Floss

In honor of Flag Day, we thought it was time you knew the truth: Everything you know about how the stars and stripes came to be crafted may be a lie.

Sorry.

History | History

Video: A New Way of Looking at the True Human Cost of WWII

Using technology and updated numbers, filmmaker Neil Halloran dissects World War II in a new way.

This really portrays the human costs of WWII in a very stark way. It adds much needed perspective to what the war cost in human terms and the price paid by the Greatest Generation.

My father was a WWII veteran. I wish more and more that I had been more persistent in trying to get him to tell me about his experiences (and I was persistent, it just wasn't something he wanted to talk about). Ironically I met someone last night who was very adamant about her pacifism. I asked her if she thought that we should have stayed out of WWII. Her response was that we should never have tried to impose our values on the rest of the world and that "all wars" were only about profit and forcing your "world view" on others. Again, I pointed out that WWII was about eradicating evil from the planet. I also mentioned that I am reading "Band of Brothers" and, to a man, those guys all despised war, but new that what they were doing was necessary. Her response was that (at age 35) she "knows nothing" about WWII and that I would "win" the conversation (not because of facts, but because of her ignorance). The fact that this was not about "winning," but about understanding how the world works was beyond her. This is why history MUST be taught at an early age and taught well.

History | History

Izola Ware Curry, Who Stabbed King in 1958, Dies at 98 - NYTimes.com

In 1958, she stabbed the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at a Harlem book signing — an episode that a decade later would become a rhetorical touchstone in the last oration of his life.

This can almost make you cry: “Dear Dr. King,” it read. “I am a ninth-grade student at the White Plains High School. While it should not matter, I would like to mention that I’m a white girl. I read in the paper of your misfortune, and of your suffering. And I read that if you had sneezed, you would have died. And I’m simply writing you to say that I’m so happy that you didn’t sneeze.”

History | History

15 Last Survivors of Famous Events | Mental Floss

Here are 15 people who not only made history, but got to tell the tale for decades. No matter how many people are involved in an important event, one of them has to be the last to leave this earth. Here are 15 people who not only made history, but got to tell the tale for decades to come.

Feast your eyes on not one, but two people who fought in the Revolutionary War!

History | History

All 43 Presidents, Ranked by How Hard They Partied

You want to know who the "Gentleman Boss" president was. Trust us.

Hey. presidents are allowed to have fun too. ESPECIALLY if they do a decent job along the way.

History | History

Divers begin recovery of Civil War ironclad before deepening of channel - CNN.com

The deepening of the shipping channel in Savannah, Georgia, won't be dredging up just mud and sand. It will be raising up an ironclad from the Civil War.

This entire story is so fascinating.

Politics | Interesting Links

Flipping Hollywood’s Blacklist Narrative

Once on a British talk show in the early 1970s, anticommunist actor John Wayne startled the host by acknowledging that there was indeed a Hollywood blacklist.  Wayne's follow-up, however, made the ...

This is a very interesting take on the left wing Hollywood version of the blacklist. Like most historical issues, the reality is much more complex than the simplistic in which it is usually portrayed.

History | History

What 11 Common Objects Would Cost in 2015 if Colonial Taxation Still Existed | Mental Floss

It’s safe to say the American colonists were pretty upset about the taxes and tariffs imposed on imported goods in the 1760s and 1770s—upset enough to start a war. But at rates like ten shillings or a couple of pounds, the tariffs hardly sound oppressive to modern ears. That is, until you do the math...

So this is very interesting. On the one hand, it does make some of today's taxes seem less slightly less grievous. On the other hand, it gives us much better perspective on why they opposed being taxed in this way, and, in the aggregate, we are taxed FAR more than they were.

History | History

10 Unsolved Mysteries From World War II - Listverse

In a global conflict on the scale of World War II, there are a lot of things that slip through the cracks. Whether it's something that we refuse to admit or simply something so foreign and bizarre...

I knew about a few of these. There isn't a lot of detail here, but they are still pretty interesting.

History | History

Revolutionary war-era time capsule found in Massachusetts state house | US news | The Guardian

Researchers to use x-rays to determine contents of box historians believe Samuel Adams, Paul Revere and others placed in 1795

So they think that this thing may have been buried (originally, it was re-buried in 1855), by Samuel Adams and Paul Revere!

History | History

Crispus Attucks: America's First Revolutionary War Casualty | Mental Floss

Who was the Revolutionary War’s first colonial casualty? A black seaman with Native American roots.

Crispus Attucks’ dramatic death made him a polarizing figure in 1770. On March 5th of that year, the infamous Boston Massacre claimed his life and left a legacy over which the emerging nation would soon struggle.

History is great!

History | History

Newly-Declassified CIA Document Says Ben Franklin Was A Security Risk

Benjamin Franklin was a man of many talents—but safeguarding state secrets was not among them. According to a recently released article by a CIA analyst, when Franklin was on a diplomatic mission in France, he allowed his offices to be penetrated by Bri

History | History

200 Years Ago Today: The Burning of Washington, D.C.

(Mural by Allyn Cox, U.S. Department of State)Two hundred years ago, the United States was locked in a bitter struggle against the British Empire known as the War of 1812. For the new republic, the stakes were profoundly high. This became especially clear

History | History

5 Other Americans Who Were Kinda, Sorta President

Students might not have to memorize these names when they're learning all the presidents, but these people were closer than a heartbeat away.

I love this stuff!