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Unfolding History Homepage

Men and women seated and standing around a table, with one man standing and pointing at something unseen at left, frescoes and heavy curtains in background

Intern Spotlight: The Shifting Reputation of Christopher Columbus as Seen in the Christopher Columbus Collection at the Library of Congress

Detail of a cartoon illustration showing an unhappy couple in court, struggling with chains and a padlock that represent their marriage.

Of Note: Not THAT Kind of Husbandry

Black and white photograph of the east front of the house Morattico Rappahannock River, Simonson, Richmond County, VA

George Washington’s Uncle Writes Home: The Letterbook of Joseph Ball

Detail from a visual outline for “So Imagined Mercado” (“Blue Antiquity”), by Oscar Hijuelos, undated.

Hispanic Heritage: Oscar Hijuelos Papers Newly Available in the Manuscript Division

Monochrome photograph of Lincoln standing with hand on chair, uniformed Union soldiers standing at left and right, with military tents in background

Made at the Library: “Conflict of Command: George McClellan, Abraham Lincoln, and the Politics of War,” with George C. Rable

The capitol building at Williamsburg, Virginia, where the House of Burgesses met.

George Washington and the “Spirit of Association”

Monochrome image of Ford at table in committee hearing room, speaking into microphone

The Nixon Pardon

Nautical Almanac Office director Charles Henry Davis offers Maria Mitchell a position as a “computer,” at a time when computers were people and opportunities for professional work in astronomy were vanishingly few, for both men and women. Davis to Mitchell, August 10, 1849.

Maria Mitchell’s Enduring Legacy: From Astronomical Poetry to Liberty Ships

Melissa Capozio Jones at Robert Lavender’s grave, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA, February 2024.

Behind the Scenes: Meeting Captain Lavender