Currency, Counterfeiting, and the Making of the US Secret Service
Featured
American Essence| By
Dustin Bass

Currency, Counterfeiting, and the Making of the US Secret Service

In ‘This Week in History,’ the Treasury Department and Congress worked to stifle counterfeiting during the Civil War, leading to major changes in banking.
75 Years: The American Legacy of the Korean War
Featured
American Essence| By
Dustin Bass

75 Years: The American Legacy of the Korean War

This year marks an important anniversary of the Cold War’s first military conflict and the unmitigated success it became.
Railroads, Innovation, and the Race for the New York Market
Featured
American Essence| By
Dustin Bass

Railroads, Innovation, and the Race for the New York Market

In ‘This Week in History,’ B&O Railroad’s dominance was undercut by a growing competitor, resulting in an industry-changing innovation.
Frans Hals’s ‘The Laughing Cavalier’
Featured
Fine Arts| By
Michelle Plastrik

Frans Hals’s ‘The Laughing Cavalier’

The life-size sitter has been called the ’most handsome man in art history.’
To the Last Man: Defenders of the Alamo
Featured
American Essence| By
Jeff Minick

To the Last Man: Defenders of the Alamo

In this installment of ‘When Character Counted,’ we remember the men who gave their lives for freedom and for each other.

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Currency, Counterfeiting, and the Making of the US Secret Service
American Essence| By
Dustin Bass

Currency, Counterfeiting, and the Making of the US Secret Service

In ‘This Week in History,’ the Treasury Department and Congress worked to stifle counterfeiting during the Civil War, leading to major changes in banking.
75 Years: The American Legacy of the Korean War
American Essence| By
Dustin Bass

75 Years: The American Legacy of the Korean War

This year marks an important anniversary of the Cold War’s first military conflict and the unmitigated success it became.
Railroads, Innovation, and the Race for the New York Market
American Essence| By
Dustin Bass

Railroads, Innovation, and the Race for the New York Market

In ‘This Week in History,’ B&O Railroad’s dominance was undercut by a growing competitor, resulting in an industry-changing innovation.
Frans Hals’s ‘The Laughing Cavalier’
Fine Arts| By
Michelle Plastrik

Frans Hals’s ‘The Laughing Cavalier’

The life-size sitter has been called the ’most handsome man in art history.’
The Bennett Prize: Celebrating Great Women Painters
Fine Arts| By
Brett Holverstott

The Bennett Prize: Celebrating Great Women Painters

The winner of the 2025 women figurative realist painters competition was announced in May at the Muskegon Museum of Art.
To the Last Man: Defenders of the Alamo
American Essence| By
Jeff Minick

To the Last Man: Defenders of the Alamo

In this installment of ‘When Character Counted,’ we remember the men who gave their lives for freedom and for each other.
‘Phantom Fleet’ Explores ‘World War II’s Most Daring Heist’
Book Review| By
Dean George

‘Phantom Fleet’ Explores ‘World War II’s Most Daring Heist’

Author-historian Alexander Rose presents a new nonfiction work about the capture of a German U-boat.
Collecting the Nation’s Cowboy and Western Heritage Art
Fine Arts| By
Lorraine Ferrier

Collecting the Nation’s Cowboy and Western Heritage Art

The Prix de West Purchase Award will be announced at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum on June 21, 2025.
The Slave-Turned-Spy Who Infiltrated the Confederate White House
American Essence| By
Walker Larson

The Slave-Turned-Spy Who Infiltrated the Confederate White House

Thanks to her intelligence, ingenuity, and connections to the Van Lew family, Mary Jane Richards stood up for the abolitionist cause as a spy.
250 Years Ago, Part 7: The Battle of Bunker Hill
American Essence| By
Alan Wakim

250 Years Ago, Part 7: The Battle of Bunker Hill

Though the Patriots lost this significant battle in the American Revolution, the effect on the British was far worse.