Photography memorialized America's grandeur and exposed its growing inequities.
1826–1900 C.E.
videos + essays
We're adding new content all the time!
Peaks and perils: The life of Carleton Watkins
In the 1860s Carleton Watkins loaded a team of mules with his mammoth-plate camera and glass negatives and ventured into Yosemite Valley.
Timothy O’Sullivan, A Harvest of Death
One of the most famous landscape photographs showing the horrible aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Carleton Watkins, Eagle Creek, Columbia River
Business or pleasure? Carlton Watkins could photograph both beautifully.
Jacob Riis, “Knee-Pants” at Forty-Five Cents a Dozen—A Ludlow Street Sweater’s Shop, from How the Other Half Lives
Riis snapped photos of the urban poor during midnight police raids—but only because he cared.
Timothy O’Sullivan, Ancient Ruins in the Cañon de Chelle
A stunning look at an important Navajo monument reminds us that we’re basically specks in a vast universe.
Browse Smarthistory images for teaching & learning!
