25 Interesting Photos That Shed More Light On American History
American history is famously brief when compared with the long historical records of many other nations. Yet, ever since the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the United States has been the stage for some of the world’s most consequential events.
On one particularly interesting subreddit, a dedicated community of history enthusiasts gathers to explore the nuances of U.S. history. We’ve delved into the r/ USHistory community and selected a series of photos that illuminate a past rich in heartbreak, complexity, and inspiration.
#1 This Is A Human Zoo In Coney Island, New York, 1905. White Americans Bought Tickets To See A Filipino Girl Tied To A Pole And Had Peanuts Thrown At Her
#2 January 12, 1888 – The “Schoolchildren’s Blizzard” Brings Tragedy To The Northwest Plains
#3 In 1969, When Black Americans Were Still Prevented From Swimming Alongside White People
Mr. Rogers decided to invite Officer Clemmons to join him and cool off his feet in a pool, breaking a well-known color barrier.
#4 First African American To Serve In The US Senate
Hiram Revels of Mississippi became the first African American to serve in the U.S. Senate—just five years after slavery was abolished.
#5 First Social Security Recipient 1940
LUDLOW, Vt. – Seventy-five years ago, the government cut 65-year-old Ida May Fuller a check. It was numbered 00-000-001 – the first Social Security payout.
#6 The Mississippi River, Frozen Solid In St Louis, Missouri, 1905
#7 In November 1945, Frederick C. Branch Became The First Black American Officer In The Marine Corps
#8 George McLaurin, The First Black Man Admitted To The University Of Oklahoma In 1948, Was Forced To Sit In A Corner Away From His White Classmates
But his name remains on the honor roll as one of the university’s top three students.
These are his words:
“Some colleagues looked at me as if I were an animal, no one gave me a word, the teachers seemed like they weren’t even there for me, nor did they always take my questions. But I dedicated myself so much that later, they started looking for me to give them explanations and clarify their questions.”
#9 The Shape Of The Statue Of Liberty Formed By 18,000 Soldiers Standing In Formation At Camp Dodge, Des Moines, Iowa, 1918. (Photo By Mole And Thomas, Chicago, Illinois)
#10 Theodore Roosevelt’s Diary Entry On The Day His Wife And Mother [Passed Away]
#11 This Is Something I Would Fight For
#12 Man Looking For A Job During The Great Depression. 1934
#13 President John F. Kennedy’s Flag-Draped Coffin In Washington, DC, 1963
#14 A Delegation Of Sixteen Arapaho Indians LED By Chief Old Eagle Arrives In Paris, Capital Of France, To Beg The League Of Nations To Ask The United States Government To Recognize Indians As U.S. Citizens
#15 Helmet Graffiti
#16 A Young Jimmy Carter, In His Naval Uniform, With Wife Rosalynn. They Were Married For 77 Years
#17 Frederick Douglass
“I therefore hate the corrupt, […], women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land…I look upon it as the climax of all misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, and the grossest of all libels.”
#18 The State Of Massachusetts Passed The First School Vaccination Law In 1855, Followed By New York (1862) And Connecticut (1872).
December 15, 1827 – The city of Boston, Massachusetts, the School Committee voted to require, effective 1 Mar 1828, that public school students show that they had been vaccinated against smallpox prior to the school entrance
#19 Teddy Reasoning
#20 Former Enemies, One Nation — Gettysburg, 1913
#21 A Civil War Veteran With His Grandchildren
#22 During The Civil War, Frances Quinn Disguised Herself As A Man And Enlisted 5 Different Times
Each time she was discovered to be a woman and was dismissed. She served in both infantry and cavalry. She was wounded at the Battle of Stones River in 1862.
#23 One Of The Only Known Photos Of Presidents Theodore And Franklin Roosevelt Together In Person, 1915
#24 Construction Of Boulder Dam, Boulder City, Nevada -Rigger On Cableway Headtower During Construction- 1934
#25 The Real Iwo Jima Flag Raising
Shanilou Perera
Shanilou has always loved reading and learning about the world we live in. While she enjoys fictional books and stories just as much, since childhood she was especially fascinated by encyclopaedias and strangely enough, self-help books. As a kid, she spent most of her time consuming as much knowledge as she could get her hands on and could always be found at the library. Now, she still enjoys finding out about all the amazing things that surround us in our day-to-day lives and is blessed to be able to write about them to share with the whole world as a profession.
