In this post, students will discover the history of electric car technology over the course of the last century. In the early 20th century, motorists had a choice of electric, steam, or gasoline cars, and it wasn’t clear that any one type would dominate the market. Electricity was beginnin

In this post, readers are encouraged to think about how differently news travels now than it did when the United States first became a country.  Most Americans did not learn of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress until weeks after July 4, 1776.  W

In this post, students will learn about the spring and summer of 1961, when more than 400 Americans became Freedom Riders. They did so knowing full well that the simple act of violating long-held traditions of racial segregation and white supremacy would almost certainly lead to arrest

In this post, students will learn about Alice Paul, a suffragist who was jailed while working to get the vote for women. During her graduate studies in England, Paul became exposed to the confrontational tactics of the English "suffragettes," and when she returned to the United States she adapted

In this post, students will learn about the Greensboro Four, college freshmen who sat down at the whites-only Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina and asked to be served. Students will also learn why that lunch counter is currently on exhibit at the Museum. This post is

This post helps teachers understand how to both memorialize September 11 and contextualize the history of the day through five essential questions. Targeted toward secondary students, the questions can help teachers and students compare aspects of September 11 to other events in American his

In this post, a Museum staff member answers a question posed by Museum visitors: Why do we celebrate Memorial Day?” A commemoration with a long history, this blog explores the roots and intentions of this spring holiday.  Written by Project Assistant Ryan Lintelman,

In this post, readers explore an extraordinary figure in a new way.  A 1950 comic book about Jackie Robinson’s early career reveals little of the hardships he faced, but focuses on the talent and integrity of on the baseball’s greats. Written by Archivist Cathy Keen, th

Explore the role of squash in early American history, beyond its common use as fall decor. As a natively grown vegetable cultivated by the Wampanoag Indians, squash holds a special place in American history. There are dozens of squash varieties, ranging in shape, size, and color. Squash have

In this post, students will learn about the work at the Museum to collect both professional and amateur photographer's images of the September 11 tragedy, as well as the stories told by the photographers. More than 2000 images and several cameras were collected for the Smithsonian from 25 ph