American History Story Briefs

America - still a young country by world standards - began as an experiment in self-government. This collection includes stories of America's people as they follow a path of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Clint Hill, a Secret Service officer for JFK, shared his memory of the day President Kennedy was fatally shot.

Colonel Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr.

The Bay of Pigs fueled Castro's worry of an American invasion and his desire for missiles from the Soviet Union.

Bass Reeves carried two revolvers known as "Peacemakers." The guns were made by Colt and were also called (among other things) a six-shooter.

The old North Bridge was the scene of a battle between Patriots and Redcoats on the 19th of April, 1775. It remains a famous American landmark.

Although they had been successful at Lexington, the British Regulars were not as fortunate at Concord.

Edgar Allan Poe, the creator of the detective-story genre, left-behind a major mystery involving his own death. Was he the victim of cooping, an illeg...

After the U.S. Civil War, Texans who fought for the Confederacy returned home to find their herds of Longhorns had significantly multiplied. With litt...

Using unexpected strategy, American generals surprise the British military and turn the tide of the Revolutionary War.

Elizabeth Shoumatoff (1888-1980) was painting President Roosevelt's portrait at his Little White House, in Warm Springs, on the 12th of April, 1945. T...

As agitation against American slavery increased, abolitionists meet in Philadelphia in December of 1833.

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