Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009. He took the award not as a reward for accomplishments but as a "call to action."

Initially viewed by his critics as a parochial, lackluster Midwestern politician, Harry Truman emerged as a president who oversaw grand historic events.

Staying at inns allowed Washington to examine the state of the infrastructure for traveling in the new federal Republic. The only problem was, he hated it.

The Founding Fathers considered term limits, but ultimately rejected the idea. It wasn't until FDR's unprecedented four terms that lawmakers reconsidered.

For most of American history, Washington's Birthday was a really big deal, but, as scholar Barry Schwartz explains, that's changed a lot since the middle of the twentieth century.

The idea of a President Oprah has sparked excitement rather than ridicule. Americans value symbolism as much as political experience; while Oprah has little of the latter, she is practically made of the former.

One scholar's opinion: the Twenty-Fifth Amendment is a Pandora's Box.

Robert E. Gilbert argues that the key to understanding Ronald Reagan is knowing that he was the child of an alcoholic.

Mount Rushmore has been controversial since its inception. Its designer, Gutzon Borglum, wanted to communicate a particular vision of American history.

Alice Roosevelt set the tone for a more public first kid and laid the foundation for post-White-House activism like Chelsea Clinton’s.