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."

Noah Brooks was a journalist who knew President Lincoln well and wrote about his personality.

This is a sketch of the unguarded door through which John Wilkes Booth entered just before he shot President Lincoln.

Shortly before his inauguration as America's 16th President, Abraham Lincoln visited Philadelphia.

The Emancipation Proclamation is still debated today, what did it say and how did the country react?

As Abraham Lincoln's funeral train made its way to Springfield, Illinois - where the President would be buried - one of the stops on its 1,654-mile jo...

Do you know the background of "Little Women?" Meet Louisa May Alcott and learn how she based her still-famous story on her real-life family.

Photograph depicting the desperate living conditions people endured during the Great Depression.

The Gulf of Mexico area contains a significant amount of America's crude-oil reserves.

Allan Loughead was an American aviator pioneer. By 1912, he was sure he could make a better plane than the planes he'd been flying.

Allan Loughead was an American aviator pioneer. He, together with his brother Malcolm, developed plans and specs for one of the world's first sea-plan...

In his own country, Cornwallis came to be known as "the man who lost America." Learn why.

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