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."

Charles Guiteau, the assassin of President Garfield, was put on trial for murder, commencing November 14, 1881.

After the war, POWs who had been incarcerated in Japanese camps all told the same story about Mutsuhiro (Matsuhiro) Watanabe - whom prisoners called "...

This sketch of Naoetsu Camp 4 - created from memory, after the war was over - is from "A Bridge Across the Pacific Ocean" (a Japanese-language book).

B-29s, flying over Japan, dropped napalm-filled cluster bombs known as the M-69.

On his way to the Battle of Marengo, where Napoleon defeated Austria, the First Counsel of France had to traverse the Grand Saint-Bernard Pass. Jacque...

This image depicts From Slavery to Freedom: The African-American Pamphlet Collection, 1824-1909.

According to the National Park Service, Nathanael Greene was born in Potowomut, Rhode Island, on July 27, 1742.

We remember Nathan Hale, executed by the British and illustrated by Howard Pyle, for these words: "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for ...

The Trail of Tears, which describes a bleak period in U.S. history, occurred after the U.S. federal government forced Native Americans to leave their ...

Louis Zamperini and his crew mates aboard their B-24, called Super man, attacked Japanese-controlled Nauru on April 21, 1943.

For a thousand years, or so, birds flying over the Pacific island of Nauru have left their droppings on the island.

This image depicts Philip Johnston visiting members of the Navajo Nation at their hogan.

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