The Daring Disguise that Helped One Enslaved Couple Escape to Freedom, Ellen and William Craft

From left, vogue dancers Cesar Valentino (white shirt), Derrick Xtravaganza Huggins, and Fidel perform at the Copacabana nightclub, New York, New York, May 25, 1989. (Photo by Rita Barros/Getty Images)

Thaddeus Morgan

Thaddeus Morgan Archives | HISTORY

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HISTORY

<p>America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.</p>


U.S. Presidents

<p>In the 15th century, Europeans began to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of new routes to China and the East, but in the process they discovered what they labeled a "New World," although Indigenous people had lived there for centuries. Other explorers have pushed the limits of flight and seafaring, and traversed the frozen Continent of Antarctica.</p>


Exploration

<p>LGBTQ+ history includes lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. Key moments in LGBTQ+ history include the trial of Oscar Wilde, the Stonewall Riots, the assassination of Harvey Milk and marriage equality.</p>


LGBTQ+ History

<p>Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have played vital roles in shaping the nation—from building the Transcontinental Railroad to advocating for labor law changes to fighting in multiple wars. They made these contributions while also facing persistent discrimination and violence throughout U.S. history.</p>


Asian American & Pacific Islander History

Listicle

Legacy Unpublished

<p>The U.S. government, with its three branches of government and a system of checks and balances, is responsible for governing the 50 states and all districts and territories of the United States.</p>


U.S. Government and Politics

<p>The Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions around the globe, as a small fledgling nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.</p>


American Revolution

<p>The history of art and entertainment tells the complex story of human civilization through visual art, design, literature, music, film and television. It ranges from cave drawings of the Neolithic period to Renaissance masterpieces to rock 'n' roll and video games.</p>


Arts & Entertainment

<p>The Middle Ages, the medieval period of European history between the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Renaissance, are sometimes referred to as the "Dark Ages."</p>


Middle Ages

<p>Inventions from the telephone to the Model T and the computer have defined human history, and inventors like Leonardo da Vinci, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney and Alexander Graham Bell have transformed our society.</p>


Inventions & Science

<p>Though the 19th century saw the rise of populism, the labor movement and Jacksonian democracy, it also ushered in the Gilded Age, when men like Cornelius Vanderbilt and J. P. Morgan wielded vast control over politics and business.</p>


19th Century

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<div class="p-rich_text_section">African Americans have played a central role in shaping U.S. history. From slavery and its abolition to the Great Migration, the civil rights movement and military, scientific, cultural and political achievements, explore key moments, milestones and figures in Black History.</div>
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Black History

<p>The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world, lasting from 1929 to 1939. Explore topics on the era, from the stock market crash of 1929, to the Dust Bowl, to FDR’s response to the economic calamity—the New Deal.</p>


Great Depression

<p>During the 1980s, conservative politics and Reaganomics held sway as the Berlin Wall crumbled, new computer technologies emerged, AIDS ravaged the United States, especially the gay male community, and blockbuster movies and MTV reshaped pop culture.</p>


Thaddeus Morgan ‑ Stories

How 19th‑Century Drag Balls Evolved into House Balls, Birthplace of Voguing

11 Anthems of Black Pride and Protest Through American History

The Daring Disguise that Helped One Enslaved Couple Escape to Freedom

When Hollywood Studios Married Off Gay Stars to Keep Their Sexuality a Secret

8 Black Inventors Who Made Daily Life Easier

How an Enslaved Man‑Turned‑Spy Helped Secure Victory at the Battle of Yorktown

New Viking Discovery Reveals a Surprising Artsy Side of the Brutish Raiders

How a Terrifying Wave of Unexplained Deaths Led to ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’

Massive Rare Viking Ship Revealed by Radar

How an Ex‑KKK Member Made His Way Onto the U.S. Supreme Court

How an Ex‑KKK Member Made His Way Onto the U.S. Supreme Court (DO NOT USE)

How Hollywood Cast White Actors in Caricatured Asian Roles