History

The men, women, battles and inventions that built the world you live in, told like a story.

StoryMarcus ValeNov 6, 20265 min

A Poor Man's Quarter Section Cost Eighteen Dollars and Five Years

The Homestead Act handed ordinary families 160 acres for a filing fee. The land was cheap. Getting to keep it was the hard part.

The Nazis Wrote It Down, and That's How We Know

From the History archive

Older stories

StoryMarcus ValeSep 23, 20267 min

D-Day Hour by Hour, From Midnight to Nightfall

StoryMarcus ValeSep 23, 20266 min

The Moon Race Was a Thriller and Nobody Knew How It Ended

StoryMarcus ValeSep 23, 20266 min

The Wright Brothers Didn't Trust the Experts and They Were Right

StoryMarcus ValeSep 23, 20266 min

The Two Hours at Pearl Harbor and the Answer That Followed

GuideSam OrtizSep 23, 20266 min

How to Find Your Ancestors Without Paying for It

StoryMarcus ValeSep 23, 20266 min

The Founders Kept Score On Themselves

History on video

Worth an hour of your evening

From channels we rate. Plays on YouTube.

Fun HistoryDec 26

423 Years of American History in 13 Minutes

Turning Point USASep 21

Western Society Relies On America's Cultural Ethos

OverSimplifiedAug 30

The American Revolution - OverSimplified (Part 1)

A. J. MerrickJul 6

History of the America in 25 minutes

Turning Point USAJul 6

American Revolution Was Liberation Of Individualism

Kids AcademyJan 26

13 American Colonies | US History | Kids Academy

Captivating HistoryFeb 2

The Civil War | Facts You Need to Know

KnowledgiaNov 27

How did the American Civil War Actually Happen? (Part 1) - From 1819 to 1861

History MattersDec 17

Ten Minute History - Westward Expansion and the American Civil War (Short Documentary)

Real Time HistoryJul 7

Forgotten 2nd D-Day 1944: Operation Dragoon (WW2 Documentary)

CrashCourseJun 20

Battles of the Civil War: Crash Course US History #19

PowerAug 19

Every Major U.S. Civil War Battle Explained

OverSimplifiedJan 31

The American Civil War - OverSimplified (Part 1)

American Battlefield TrustJan 24

The Civil War Animated Battle Map | 4K Restoration

American Battlefield TrustJun 7

Infantry Tactics During the Civil War: The Civil War in Four Minutes

Agent FlappyNov 19

The American Civil War Explained in 24 Minutes

HISTORYFeb 23

The First Battle of the Civil War | Abraham Lincoln | History

Heimler's HistoryDec 7

MILITARY Conflict in the CIVIL WAR [APUSH Review Unit 5 Topic 8] Period 5: 1844-1877

History quizzes

Quiz yourself, then your friends

All quizzes

StoryJosh HalloranOct 12, 20266 min

The Lie About a Dead Boy in Norwich That Wouldn't Die

A rumor born in England in 1144 spread across Europe for eight centuries. The people who stood against it deserve to be remembered by name.

StoryWes DunbarOct 4, 20267 min

Before Paul Bunyan Was an Ad, He Was a Few Thousand Real Men

The north woods camps ran on pine, pancakes and nerve. They built the Midwest, nearly burned it down, and left a lesson in how to clean up after yourself.

Ask BRO

Rewrite my CV so it actually gets read

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StoryDean ShawOct 4, 20267 min

The Wright Brothers Flew for Five Years Before the World Believed It

Kitty Hawk was the easy part. The hard part was the cow pasture, the newspapers that yawned, and the years they chose not to fly at all.

Dude.com — 16 AI advisers who listen, talk and are here with you

PartnerDude.com

6 min read

The Railway Canada Couldn't Afford and Built Anyway

A young country promised a train to the Pacific, nearly went broke keeping its word, and finished five years early. Not everyone was thanked.

Poll

Where does your best time with your kids happen?

StoryMarcus ValeOct 3, 20267 min

The Pony Express Went Broke Delivering the Mail on Time

For eighteen months, kids on fast horses beat the clock across 1,900 miles of open country. The company lost a fortune doing it. The ride was worth it.

StoryDean ShawOct 3, 20266 min

Wash Day, the Iceman and the Lamp Chimney Nobody Misses

Three machines took apart the American week your great-grandmother lived. The real story of how they got into the kitchen is better than the myth.

PartnerWhackAWoke.com

StoryDean ShawOct 3, 20266 min

The Can Came Almost Fifty Years Before the Can Opener

The zipper, the lawnmower and the can opener all took two men: one with the idea and a second, stubborn one who made it actually work.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next two weeks.

StoryMarcus ValeOct 3, 20266 min

The Flour Sack Dress and the Neighbors Who Fed Each Other

Our grandparents didn't get through the 1930s on grit alone. They had a system: the garden, the sewing box and the family next door.

StoryMarcus ValeOct 3, 20266 min

Proving up took five years and two neighbors willing to swear

The Homestead Act's paperwork was easy. Staying alive on the claim was the hard part, and at the end your neighbors had to vouch for you.

Ask BRO

Give me something to do with my kids this weekend

Ask it

StoryDean ShawOct 3, 20266 min

From the Plow to the Combine, One Broken Bottleneck at a Time

For most of history a farm was only as big as one family could harvest. How a blacksmith, a Virginian, and a few stubborn tinkerers changed that.

Shirts.com — Design it with AI. Wear it this week.

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StoryMarcus ValeOct 3, 20267 min

Baseball's Birth Story Was Made Up, and the Real One Is Better

A commission handed America a tidy origin myth in 1907. The true history has clerks, prisoners, a paid shortstop and a man who refused to swing back.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

StoryMarcus ValeOct 3, 20267 min

Every Rodeo Event Was Somebody's Job First

Rodeo started as ranch hands settling an argument. It became the one sport where every event began as a day's work.

StoryDean ShawOct 3, 20266 min

Farmers Invented the Pickup and Detroit Caught Up Later

Before Ford built a single pickup, men were sawing the backs off their cars. The truck has been shaped by its owners ever since.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

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StoryMarcus ValeOct 1, 20266 min

A Hundred Years Ago, Christmas Started With a Catalog

Raccoons at the White House, candles on the tree, and a whole country waiting on the mail. What the holidays of 1926 can still teach your family.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

6 min

Seven Historic Stops Worth Making the Kids Sit in the Car

6 min

Harriet Tubman Walked Back Into Maryland Thirteen Times

Ask BRO

Plan a cook for eight people

Ask it

StoryWes DunbarSep 23, 20267 min

The Cowboy Was Real For About Twenty Years

Thirty dollars a month, eighteen-hour days, and a job most men quit by thirty. The record is harder and better than the movies.

CancerDefying.com — The research, protocols and reading in one place

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7 min read

Frozen Chosin and the War America Agreed to Forget

Five months after a beaten battalion tried to stop tanks with bad rockets, 30,000 men walked out of a Korean valley at 30 below. Most of them made it.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

Older articles

Older History stories

History

A Poor Man's Quarter Section Cost Eighteen Dollars and Five Years

Teddy Roosevelt Quit a Safe Job to Go and Get Shot At

Thirteen Dollars a Month and Half a Continent to Patrol

Eleven Minutes to Recognize Israel, and the Fight Behind Them

The Hardest Part of Hiding a Family Was the Groceries

The Nazis Wrote It Down, and That's How We Know

From the History archive

D-Day Hour by Hour, From Midnight to Nightfall

The Moon Race Was a Thriller and Nobody Knew How It Ended

The Wright Brothers Didn't Trust the Experts and They Were Right

The Two Hours at Pearl Harbor and the Answer That Followed

How to Find Your Ancestors Without Paying for It

The Founders Kept Score On Themselves

Worth an hour of your evening

Quiz yourself, then your friends

The Lie About a Dead Boy in Norwich That Wouldn't Die

Before Paul Bunyan Was an Ad, He Was a Few Thousand Real Men

The Wright Brothers Flew for Five Years Before the World Believed It

The Railway Canada Couldn't Afford and Built Anyway

The Pony Express Went Broke Delivering the Mail on Time

Wash Day, the Iceman and the Lamp Chimney Nobody Misses

The Can Came Almost Fifty Years Before the Can Opener

The Flour Sack Dress and the Neighbors Who Fed Each Other

Proving up took five years and two neighbors willing to swear

From the Plow to the Combine, One Broken Bottleneck at a Time

Baseball's Birth Story Was Made Up, and the Real One Is Better

Every Rodeo Event Was Somebody's Job First

Farmers Invented the Pickup and Detroit Caught Up Later

A Hundred Years Ago, Christmas Started With a Catalog

Seven Historic Stops Worth Making the Kids Sit in the Car

Harriet Tubman Walked Back Into Maryland Thirteen Times

The Cowboy Was Real For About Twenty Years

Frozen Chosin and the War America Agreed to Forget