Even in 1976, voter turnout on Election Day was a challenge! Discover why getting Americans to the polls has always been a vital yet ongoing struggle.
Vintage politics
When the newspapers first reported on the 1929 stock market crash, nobody knew what was coming. See these Great Depression newspaper headlines for how it began.
Juneteenth is a celebration of Black freedom. The celebration fell out of favor for decades, and has made a couple of comebacks. Find out more here!
Since his death more than 150 years ago, people have wanted to know more about our 16th president, and one way to do that is by looking closely at pictures of Abraham Lincoln.
Gain insights into the struggles and aspirations of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Drafted in secret during the summer of 1787, the Constitution of the United States established the government of the United States. Here, the original US Constitution text.
Join us as we explore the fascinating history of George Washington’s life – a true testament to the power of determination, leadership, and an unwavering belief in the potential of a young nation.
When the Watergate apartments opened in 1967, they quickly became THE address for high-profile politicians. Here’s some promo from when they were new!
Since “loose lips sink ships,” keeping people from oversharing during WWII was a huge deal. These posters were created specifically to remind people to keep quiet about what the military was doing.
Considering that people typically love money, the $2 bill has been ridiculously unpopular. Here’s a look at how it came to be, and why it’s one of the rarest US currency notes.
Peek back into the life of young Ronald Reagan in the 40s & 50s – way before he was president back when acting paid the bills, and his wife was Jane Wyman.
In this collection of vintage interviews, actress Nichelle Nichols (1932-2022) talked about her role as Uhura on Star Trek. Through her own words and vintage photos, you can find out about the groundbreaking star’s life both before and after the Enterprise took flight.
There’s so much *story* packed into the history of the American flag & how its design adapted over nearly 200 years — in step with the evolution of our union.
April 22, 1970, was set as the first Earth Day across America – the culmination of demonstrations and teach-ins protesting the deteriorating state of the country’s environment.
Below are a few photos of actor/assassin John Wilkes Booth, along with some theater advertisements that appeared in newspapers during the years leading up to President’s Lincoln’s murder.
It is said that superior men have superior mothers, and no matter the views of John Quincy Adams as a politician, he was considered a man of high morals. This insightful letter was written by his mother, First Lady Abigail Adams, from a volume published in the mid-1800s.
The White House in the early 1900s showed off President Teddy Roosevelt’s renovations, updating it for the 20th century. Here’s a look back at the mansion, inside and out, in high-resolution photos, plus detailed descriptions of the rooms.
Here’s a look back at Abraham Lincoln’s funeral and the entire funeral procession, where millions of people came out to see the President’s hearse pass by on the way from Washington DC to Chicago.
In June 1919, a peace treaty with Germany was signed in France, and formally brought an end to the Great War, which we now call World War I.
Vintage bumper stickers have been a common sight for decades, and were more than just a decoration on the back of a car or truck – they were there to make a statement. Here’s a look back at a few!
Two big questions that have emerged over the years: Did George Washington have wooden false teeth? Did George Washington’s dentures include actual human teeth that came from slaves? Find out here!
For years, electricity was produced by burning coal because few options existed? Peruse these vintage ads to see how the pro-fission profession once professed their preference for the promotion of nuclear power.
The important events described here were the beginning of the end of the Civil War, though the official declaration was signed on May 10, 1865.
The Apotheosis of Washington fresco was added to Washington DC’s Capitol Dome by artist Constantino Brumidi during the Civil War. He started the job when he was nearly 60 years old. See it here!
Just two weeks after giving birth to her son, Jackie Kennedy met with First Lady Mamie Eisenhower for a tour of the White House, in preparation for John F Kennedy’s presidential term to start the following month.
H G Wells interviewed civil rights leader Booker T Washington, and wrote: ‘Every such man stands… fighting against foul imaginations, misrepresentations, injustice, insult, and the naive unspeakable meannesses of base antagonists.’
Although it was an incredibly close race, Richard Milhous Nixon conceded victory to President-elect John Fitzgerald Kennedy in the early hours of the morning on the day after the election.
See what it looked like during President Lincoln’s historic Gettysburg Address speech, plus eyewitness accounts, analysis, full text & and a handwritten copy of the speech.
Take a trip back to the past – go sightseeing and learn more about what Washington DC was like in the 1950s! The classic tour is here, from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial to the White House.
Abraham Lincoln: Republican candidate for President of the United States – 1860 Description from the US Library of Congress: “A print for a large campaign
Here, we present many thought-provoking Abraham Lincoln quotes from throughout his distinguished career, gathered from antique books.
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier became the bride of Senator John F. Kennedy – the future president – at this elegant society wedding in 1953. See what it was like!
Here is one theory about how the Liberty Bell was cracked, according to an old man who confessed to breaking the famous bell when he was just a boy.
Besides reporting the news on CBS News, Walter Cronkite selected and edited film, and was often his own crew so he could cover fast-breaking news stories on the spot.
Protests and riots in the ’60s led to increased tensions between police and the Black community, so Ebony magazine published this guide to help African-Americans protect themselves.
‘Donald Gets Drafted,’ was a vintage movie short released by Disney early in World War II. Shown nationwide, the cartoon earned the high marks of a ‘swell’ rating.
Take a look at the original WANTED poster that was distributed far and wide to help catch President Lincoln’s killer – John Wilkes Booth, and two of his accomplices.
Here’s the true story of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, as reported at the time of his murder at the hand of actor John Wilkes Booth.
In the years after Mary Jo Kopechne died in a car accident on Chappaquiddick Island, questions, investigations, doubts and rumors dogged the career of Edward Kennedy. Here’s a look back.
Frederick Douglass, who was born a slave in Talbot county, Maryland, in 1817, was the one conspicuous anti-slavery agitator who spoke of the wrongs and cruelty of slavery from personal experience.
When President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas in 1963, grief was felt all around the globe, and the question of motive has never been definitively answered.
In the early morning hours of July 23, 1967, police in Detroit raided an unlicensed, after-hours bar in what they assumed was just another routine
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war.
Richard Nixon’s final presidential crisis truly began with the ruling that he could no longer withhold 64 disputed White House tapes from the Watergate prosecutors. Here is the story of the last days before Nixon’s resignation.
In a case study of terrible timing, the huge Habana Hilton hotel in Havana, Cuba, wasn’t even open for a year when it was taken over. Find out more here!
Here’s what voters thought of Ford vs Carter in the presidential election of 1976, based on things like who would handle certain problems better, and who debated the best.
‘Let us always be willing to give them whatever credit is their due.’ 186,000 men of African descent fought for the Union in the Civil War. Here are some antique portraits showing just a few of these soldiers.
In 1970, Elvis Presley sent President Nixon a letter saying he’d like to become a ‘federal agent at large’ to help in in the war on drugs. The next day, Presley got his meeting
What is a Watergate Cake? It’s the popular dessert made with a recipe that was passed around a lot in the mid-1970s. In the name of historical research, we decided to give this vintage cake recipe try! Here’s how it turned out.
On the inside of the pedestal of the world-famous New York landmark is the Statue of Liberty poem, written by Emma Lazarus to welcome immigrants and visitors to America.
The Boston Tea Party resulted from at least four important historical factors, and was, in fact, the catalyst for the Revolutionary war for independence.
In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson went before a joint session of Congress, and the United States formally declared war – The Great War, which became known as World War 1 – on April 6, 1917.
Find out about the lost silent film, ‘The Dramatic Life of Abraham Lincoln,’ which was said to offer a vibrant, realistic look into the life of the beloved 16th President.
The alert Watergate TV addict should have spotted it by now: a catchy word here, a switchable phrase there. Here’s a look at the linguistic splendors of Watergate.
Being the heavyweight champion didn’t exclude Muhammad Ali from the draft during the height of the Vietnam War in 1967 – but it didn’t mean he was going to go willingly.
Here are 14 newspaper front pages from across the United States telling the news of the George Herbert Walker Bush’s presidential election in November 1988.
Here’s the White House Christmas menu from the 1880s – with dishes like Mrs Harrison’s Sausage Rolls, Mrs Kenna’s Regent Punch and Mrs Cullom’s Chocolate Creams.
This widely-beloved cartoon music video for ‘I’m Just A Bill’ came out in 1975 as part of Schoolhouse Rock, a memorable series of animated shorts that ran with the Saturday morning cartoons.
As battles in Vietnam go, this one was only a minor skirmish. But it made clear the frustrating array of problems facing U.S. troops as they move into a more active combat role as the buildup goes on.
Here’s a sampling about what the witty editorial cartoonists of the 1920s had to say about the prohibition of alcohol when it was the law of the land.
President Lincoln’s call to arms – and the start of the Civil War The day after the surrender of Fort Sumter, President Lincoln met with
At the start of the Watts Riots, rumors of police brutality during an arrest quickly spread, and a crowd began to form. It was the flashpoint for rioting and rebellion that had been simmering under the surface of Los Angeles that summer.
WAR DECLARED: See 31 consecutive front page headlines from DC from those tumultuous weeks leading to the outbreak of hostilities in WWI back in 1914.
See a timeline and find out about the life and career of this Ulysses S Grant, best known as a Civil War General and as the 18th President of the United States.
Senator Robert F. Kennedy died 25 hours after he was shot by an assassin. Bobby Kennedy succumbed to extensive brain damage caused when his assassin fired eight shots at point-blank range.
Regular US combat units were deployed to Vietnam beginning in 1965, and while America’s direct military involvement ended on August 15, 1973, the last soldiers left Vietnam on March 29, 1975. Here, take a look back at how some of the military action was portrayed stateside by Newsweek magazine.
“We sometimes despair over specifics in our educational, political, and military systems or of actions, or opinions of individuals representing them.” – Fleet Admiral Chester W Nimitz, USN
“If ever the United States should reach a point where the clash of ideas comes to an end, where debate disappears, where everybody agrees with everybody else on everything, then we are finished as a nation.” – President John F Kennedy on the media
“Our magazines are a leading force for moral and cultural growth in our country, and one of our surest guarantees of an informed public.” – President Dwight D Eisenhower
The question of a woman president is often batted around in election years. Former President Harry S Truman has said that a woman may well occupy the White House someday. And President Eisenhower has said that women are competent for the office — though too smart to seek it.
Richard Nixon’s first Watergate speech was broadcast live from the White House’s Oval Office on April 30, 1973, starting at 9:01 pm Eastern. Below, see a video of his statements, followed by a transcript of the speech.
“The greatest man in America” has fallen in a duel The Sprig Of Liberty (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) – July 27, 1804 DISTRESSING! It is with infinite regret
Original Editor’s note from 1968: This article by the noted author James Baldwin… is an attempt to explain to whites the militant Negro’s reaction to ‘black power,’ as well as the Negro revolution now in progress. It is bitter, but not devoid of hope.
Americans hurried to flee at the end of the Vietnam War, when the United States pulled out of the fight, and Saigon surrendered to communism.
President Benjamin Harrison on the obligations of wealth (1898) General Harrison addresses a large gathering at Chicago The Union League Club’s celebration in honor of
With hearts and checkbooks the stars responded to the call of humanity — but an insidious plot lay hidden behind the campaign! By Morton Thompson
Back in 1912, President Taft signed the proclamation admitting Arizona into the union as the 48th state in the US. Here’s how it went, and what Arizona looked like around that time.
Amid the most dramatic scenes ever witnessed in Congress, the house early today passed the resolution which formally declared Germany as an enemy and launched the United States in the fight for the democracy of the world.
Politics 1968: The big show The bands were tuning up, the barkers were practicing their spiels, the five — count-’em — five Republican elephants were lumbering
A proclamation: Display the flag at their homes or other suitable places on the second Sunday in May as a public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country…
There’s no sign proclaiming the FW Woolworth lunch counter here as the birthplace, 10 years ago today, of the sit-in movement that brought a new way of community life to the dual service and segregated South of the 1960s.
Woman-for-President idea gains in favor by George Gallup Princeton, NJ, Oct 28 — A woman for President of the United States? American voters are getting
Six photographers were brought into Franklin D Roosevelt’s office on the afternoon that the Brazilian Trade Agreement was to be signed in 1935. Here’s what
How Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton recorded history (1893) The Herald (Los Angeles, California) December 17, 1893 “If you want to know how
