American History Week

A depiction of the signatories of the Declaration of Independence, 4 July, 1776, from a painting by John Trumbull. The men standing are (l to r) John Adams, Roger Sherman Robert R. Livingston, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin. (Image by Bettmann/Getty Images)

Why does the United States of America celebrate Independence Day on 4 July?

Early American Patriotic flag. (Visions of America/UIG via Getty images)

10 things you (probably) didn’t know about the American War of Independence

Mel Gibson in 'The Patriot'. (© Kobal Collection)

The American War of Independence: Three Films

President Ronald Reagan throwing a football from his desk in the Oval Office. (Photo by Mary Anne Fackelman-Miner/White House/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

Opinion: the conservative legacy of Ronald Reagan

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Second World War

12 things you (probably) didn’t know about Pearl Harbor

The arrival of Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1618), in Virginia, leading to the settlement established on Roanoke Island under John White (c.1540-93 (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

What happened to the lost colony of Roanoke Island?

Four black students in Greensboro, North Carolina, hold the first sit-in (Corbis.)

Timeline: the American civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s

President Abraham Lincoln visiting soldiers encamped at the Civil War battlefield of Antietam in Maryland, 1 October 1862. (Photo by Rischgitz/Getty Images)

The American Civil War: 7 facts and fictions

A US soldier teaching two junior 'rookie' recruits how to clean a gun during the First World War

First World War

7 things you (probably) didn’t know about America’s entry and involvement in the First World War

A badge featuring American civil rights activist Martin Luther King

The global legacy of Martin Luther King

Jesse James is one of America’s most notorious outlaw heroes. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Jesse James: Three Films

A portrait of Alexander Hamilton by John Trumbull, 1806. (Photo by IanDagnall Computing/Alamy Stock Photo)

Ron Chernow on Alexander Hamilton: the man behind the hit musical

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From candy to diapers: the purity of American English

President Nixon. (Getty Images)

The 5 most notorious presidents in US history