Travel in time to how people felt about major US events

A primary source timeline of US history (1600-1968)

Compiled by the Library of Congress, this archive walks through important events in US history through civil rights era, while providing primary sources to explore.

How Americans have voted throughout history

From shouting candidates’ names, to hanging chads to electronic scanning, the nature of voting has a long, sometimes bumpy history in the United States. See descriptions and images in chronological order with this digestible timeline.

Track the changes in US immigration law throughout history

This interactive timeline tracks the development of US immigration law, overlaid with time-series data on percentages of the foreign-born population. Explore how each major policy development correlated with immigration levels, revealing the relationship between legislation and demographic change.

See the results of all 59 presidential elections from 1789 to 2024

This interactive tool lets users explore the outcomes of every US presidential election from George Washington's uncontested 1789 victory through 2024, showing how electoral votes, state results, and shifting coalitions shaped each race.

How George Gallup changed political polling forever

Straw polls had been used in the 19th century, but it wasn't until George Gallup's use of random sampling in 1936 that the art became a science.

100 years of passenger air travel: a visual guide

This interactive timeline covers the first 100 years of passenger air travel, which was created in 1925 when the U.S. Post Office allowed private airlines to start delivering mail.

Latest polls on the 2024 Presidential election

The latest polls for the 2024 Presidential Election. Updated daily, includes state and national polls for every matchup, including Biden, Harris, Trump, and DeSantis.

What issues Americans are prioritizing in 2022

Inflation, Crime, and Abortion—see a breakdown of voter preferences by age, race, and gender, along with what topics are top of mind for Americans.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

See how newspapers broke the news of the attack around the world

This collection showcases front pages from cities around the globe reacting to Pearl Harbor in real-time—capturing the shock, fear and uncertainty as the US entered World War II.

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

Historians reflect on the best State of the Unions ever

These political experts highlight standout State of the Union addresses that shaped the nation's direction—from Washington's first and Lincoln's Civil War messages to FDR's wartime resolve, LBJ's Great Society launch, and Clinton's scandal-shadowed 1998 speech.

The 1950s saw the rise of the modern American road trip

Guaranteed time off and the ability to travel more affordably offered Americans the opportunity to hit the road for their vacations. The country's expanding interstate network of highways made those trips more convenient, especially for those looking to visit a site in the country's nascent National Parks System.

Explore an interactive map showing what makes people happy

Using 10,000 responses collected from people around the world about what makes them happy, this map offers insights into how relationships, finances, purpose, and small treats all contribute to a person's contentment. Recent data suggests that young people today are less happy than those in previous generations, indicating a need to reflect on what really matters in life.

Explore an interactive timeline of the most important moments in the WEF’s history

This interactive traces the World Economic Forum’s evolution from a small European meeting in the 1970s into a global power hub, highlighting pivotal moments in Davos, landmark speeches, and turning points that have shaped its outsized influence on world affairs.

See the progress of the war in this interactive, visual timeline

Follow the progress Russian/Ukrainian War through this interactive map. Watch as events develop, get a daily overview of movements, and switch back and forth between different dates and time periods during the conflict. Results will change in real time and depending on all available information about troop movements and more.

July Fourth wasn't always a holiday, and its meaning has changed over time

This podcast explores how July Fourth evolved from an ordinary day into a national holiday, tracing its radical origins, the shifting interpretations of the Declaration, and how later generations claimed its language of liberty and equality.

How the US government used photography to fight poverty

In the 1930s, the US was in crisis, and the government turned to photography to win public support. Images of rural poverty stirred empathy, shifting public opinion and helping pave the way for New Deal reforms.

The origins of our fascination with time travel

Humans have been captivated by the prospect of leaping forward and backward in time for thousands of years. Georgia Institute of Technology Science Fiction Studies Professor Lisa Yaszek recounts how the concept has been utilized by storytellers from 400 BCE to modern-day to explore our relationship with the supernatural, technology, and the past. In a way, this historical recounting is a journey through time.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was unpopular with most Americans during his lifetime

Polling shows that public opinion of Dr. King shifted dramatically after his death: viewed unfavorably by most Americans in the mid-1960s, more than 80% of the public now believes he had a positive impact on our country, according to data from Pew and Gallup.

Key moments that shaped the national debt include the Civil War, both World Wars, the 2008 recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic

The US national debt has grown alongside wars, recessions, and policy shifts—from $75M after the Revolutionary War to over $34T today. This visual timeline walks through key moments that shaped the debt.

The favorite restaurants of former US presidents

Curious about the eating habits of past commanders-in-chief? From George Washington to Barack Obama, discover the food preferences of former US presidents. Find out who liked to go out vs. stay in, where they frequented, what they ordered, and how they spent their time in each establishment.

See how faces on magazine covers have changed over time

This piece examined an archive of Time magazine containing 3,389 issues ranging from 1923 to 2014, focusing on 327,322 faces from the archive. Read what the researchers learned.

Mapping fiction's imagined breakdowns of the US after apocalypse

Post-apocalyptic fiction in the US is at least a century old, and how the future is envisioned reflects contemporary anxieties and divisions. This piece examines the various creative maps birthed from the tradition from Jack London's 1912 "The Scarlet Plague," a pandemic novel set in 2073, through Stephen King's "The Stand", dystopian "The Hunger Games," and visions of civil war.

Stand-up comedy podcasts have realigned political campaigns

Some of the world’s most popular podcasts, like “The Joe Rogan Experience” and “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von,” are hosted by stand-up comedians. They also now play a role in American politics, with representatives, senators, and even presidents taking part in their freewheeling conversations

How the Vietnam War changed rock 'n' roll

This short video essay analyzes how rock music responded to US involvement in Vietnam, from the protest folk of Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan to the popularity of rock and soul records with soldiers stationed abroad.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Political typology quiz

Where do you fit in the political typology? Take this quiz to find out which political typology best matches your views. Sixteen questions serve to filter political views across nine typology groups. These groups include: Progressive Left;...

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

Abraham Lincoln was almost assassinated weeks before his inauguration as he traveled from Illinois to DC through Baltimore in 1861; it took two independent claims for Lincoln to be convinced the threat was real

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Watch contemporary footage covering the US-backed Shah of Iran fleeing the country in the face of the 1979 Iranian Revolution

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

Watch how viruses like Ebola can spill over from animals to humans—and vice-versa.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states