The Saratoga Campaign
The first years of the Revolutionary War were discouraging for Americans. British forces were larger, better trained, and better equipped. American victories were few, but in the fall of 1777,…
Lemonade Lucy Hayes
The press jokingly called her “Lemonade Lucy,” because no alcoholic beverages were served in the White House while she was First Lady. But Lucy Hayes, wife of the 19th President,…
The Camp David Accords
The presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, was the setting for a historic moment in September, 1978. With the help of U.S. President Jimmy Carter, the leaders of Egypt and…
Fisk Jubilee Singers
“The magic of their song kept thrilling hearts,” the African-American leader W.E.B. Du Bois said of the Jubilee Singers of Fisk University. The “Jubilees” were the first choral group to…
African Americans
Unlike immigrants from other lands, ancestors of most African-Americans came to America by force rather than by choice. One million arrived aboard slave ships between 1619 and 1808. As slaves,…
Benjamin Banneker
The son of a freed slave, Benjamin Banneker spent only a few winters in school. But he overcame racial prejudice and lack of formal education to become a widely respected…
I.M. Pei
In Washington D.C., a bold structure in the shape of two connecting triangles makes a dramatic addition to the National Gallery of Art. In Boston, the green-glassed John Hancock Tower…
Mount Rushmore
Located in the Black Hills in southwestern South Dakota, Mount Rushmore National Memorial celebrates America with images of four of its great presidents. Carved from the granite summit of Mount…
The Log Cabin
When settlers arrived on the wild American frontier, their first task was to build a home. More often than not, they built a log cabin. These simple homes were common…
The Stamp Act
“No taxation without representation!” That cry rang out all through the 13 colonies in 1765. American colonists were furious over the Stamp Act, a new British law that taxed them…
Boston Massacre
The city of Boston was tense on the night of March 5, 1770. Many people feared that violence would erupt between the colonials and the British troops stationed there. That…
Patrick Henry
“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?…I know not what course others may take, but as for me,…
Mercy Otis Warren
“Be it known unto Britain even American daughters are politicians and patriots,” wrote Mercy Otis Warren. Women were not educated outside their homes in colonial America, and they were not…
Marquis de Lafayette
He was called “the hero of two worlds” because of his important role in both the American and the French revolutions. He was the Marquis de Lafayette, a French nobelman…
Benedict Arnold
Today, the name Benedict Arnold is a synonym for traitor. But in the early years of the American Revolution, Arnold was a hero. He led a daring attack on Quebec…
The Liberty Bell
On July 8, 17776, a pealing bell in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House announced the first public reading of the declaration of Independence. Today, that iron bell is…
John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones has been called the “fightingest sailor in American naval history.” Born in Scotland, Jones sailed to America as a ship’s boy when he was 12 years old.…
The Battle of Princeton
On January 3, 1777, George Washington outfoxed the British. A week before, his army had won one of the most remarkable victories of the Revolution. They had surprised and beaten…
The Saratoga Campaign
The first years of the Revolutionary War were discouraging for Americans. British forces were larger, better trained, and better equipped. American victories were few, but in the fall of 1777,…
The Assassination of William McKinley
On September 6, 1901, President William McKinley greeted the public at a reception in Buffalo, New York. He was there to speak at the Pan American Exposition about America’s growing…