Mesmerizing Photographs Offering Fresh Perspectives On American History
Time has a way of moving quickly. It's easy to underestimate how fast the features of everyday life that most people take for granted can become a distant memory. Indeed, nostalgia is often a coping mechanism for what was lost in the sands of time before people had a chance to appreciate it.
Yet, once bygone eras are far enough in the past, some important and fascinating contextual realities can become forgotten. With that in mind, it's high time to open our eyes to these revealing photos that enrich our perception of America's past.
These veterans had seen so much by then
This photo captures 12 surviving veterans of the Battle Of Baltimore, a pivotal struggle in the War of 1812 that halted the advance of British forces after they captured Washington, D.C. The battle's outcome was such a powerful moment of hope for America in that bleak war that it inspired "The Star-Spangled Banner."
By the time this photo was taken in 1880, these veterans had also witnessed the nation overcome a period as destructive and disheartening as that invasion attempt. Not only did the American Civil War see a staggering number of casualties, but it was worse to know they resulted from a war that (in some cases literally) pitted brother against brother.
There was a very different O.J. Simpson back then
According to Reddit user ajfoscu, this photo shows their father securing an autograph from O.J. Simpson as an excited little kid. For many who grew up knowing Simpson as the subject of one of the most infamous trials in American history, it's easy to underestimate the respect he once commanded.
Even before he made in-roads into the entertainment industry, Simpson was perhaps the biggest and most celebrated star in the NFL in the years before his retirement from the league in 1979. To this kid in 1975, getting an autograph from him would be like a young NBA fan getting Michael Jordan's autograph 20 years later.
Nobody was going to mistake him for anybody else
Although so many pictures from the past require a lot of context to be understood through modern eyes, that context is particularly needed here. Otherwise, it's hard to imagine people even guessing what they're looking at here.
This man's suit is obviously strange, but it's worth noting that it's completely covered in peanuts. That's how this peanut vendor used to drum up business in 1890. He would certainly stand out and leave no room for confusion about what people could get from him.
A great moment in American history?
Taken at face value, this photo depicts a team led by Robert Peary, who claimed to be the first explorer to reach the North Pole by land in 1909. Considering that they proudly displayed the American flag in the background, this seemed like a legendary moment for the United States. Unfortunately, that would change over the years.
Although his voyage was certified by the National Geographic Society at the time, they were also a major sponsor of his expedition and part of a clear conflict of interest. Since nobody would accomplish an entirely land-based expedition of the North Pole until the 1960s and Peary kept the facts of his expedition private, it's likely that he only pretended to make it there.
So many differences in one picture
Admittedly, this photo doesn't capture a particularly significant moment in American history. After all, it's just a young man working a grocery store checkout counter. Despite the rise of self-checkout kiosks in modern times, that's still not an unusual sight.
However, it is easy for a chain of stores that persisted in American life for decades after this was taken to end up completely forgotten. This employee worked at Jitney Jungle, a recognizable name until the entire franchise was bought out and rebranded by Winn-Dixie in 2000. Nowadays, it sounds made up.
A dramatic spectacle but nothing more
Although she's obviously a little hard to recognize in this picture, the infamous spiritual medium Mina Crandon can be seen here covered in what she claimed was ectoplasm during a 1930 seance. In all likelihood, it was actually cheesecloth.
Throughout the early 20th Century, spiritualism was an international sensation that was passionately endorsed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Yet, while he believed Crandon had genuine powers, she would eventually be exposed as a fraud by none other than Harry Houdini.
Preparing to make history
Although they were still in astronaut training when this photo was taken in 1978, these five women would go on to be the first five American women in space (Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova had already become the first woman in space by then.)
Although Sally Ride (left) was the most famous of these women, Judy Resnik (next to her) excelled to an even greater extent in the training program they went through. Tragically, her potential would be suddenly cut short by the horrors of the Challenger disaster in 1986.
This was as cool as it got back then
It's unclear who this incredibly fashionable group of friends is, but it almost goes without saying that this photo was taken during the 1970s. Specifically, this was the street scene in New York City's Harlem neighborhood on one fine day in 1971.
The size of the women's afros in this picture is nothing short of impressive, but it's hard not to want to see the men's super stylish outfits make a comeback. Indeed, the man on the right already seemed to be taking a then-modern twist on the zoot suits of decades past.
A meeting of four legendary titans
Although many people could look at this photo without recognizing anyone in it, it captured a concert that serious jazz fans would likely give their right arm to attend. If Miles Davis hadn't parted ways with two of these men three years earlier, the lineup would have been completely flawless.
However, the lucky audience of this performance was given an opportunity to see Tommy Potter, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and John Coltrane all at once. That would be like if Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, and George Michael all decided to do a show together during the 1980s.
She didn't live her whole life in Israel
For those who aren't familiar with the life of Golda Meir — Israel's first female Prime Minister — it would easy to assume that she spent almost all her life in the country she would eventually govern. However, that is not the case, which was why she was hugging this child at an American school in 1969.
Although Meir was born in Kyiv, Ukraine, she actually spent the bulk of her early life and her college years in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Thus, this photo captures her returning to her old school there rather than only visiting it to garner goodwill from the American public.
It's hard even to recognize the city
Although it's a common feeling that much of New York City's scrappy soul has been replaced by sanitized commercial interests, there's a danger of getting too nostalgic about past incarnations of the city. This photo does a very effective job of demonstrating why.
Before the advent of the Environmental Protection Agency, New York was near the top of the list of America's most polluted cities. This shot from 1966 shows a concentration of smog in the air that makes modern Los Angeles look like a pristine paradise by comparison.
The best reason for the phone to be out of order
Although it's true that the common treatment of animals was harsher in past decades than it is now, that doesn't mean that local governments and communities never showed some wholesome consideration for local wildlife. Take, for instance, this shot of a public telephone in White Oak, Maryland, from 1966.
The only reason that the phone kiosk next to the phone booth existed was so this nesting robin could care for her children undisturbed. Whatever a person's call on that phone was about, that cute detail would probably come up.
Stock car races used to look a lot different
Although the cars they use in NASCAR nowadays are about as fancy as the ones used in the Indy 500 or at Le Mans, there was a time when stock car racing was more appropriately named. Since this 1956 Beach and Road Course race in Daytona Beach, Florida, featured similarly equipped cars, it was a test of pure driving ability.
While Buck Bakerin was leading the pack by the time this picture was taken, it seems that Carl Keikhafer's motor company had found the cream of the driving crop that year. It's also refreshing to see cars in these races that aren't completely covered by advertisements.
They're more recognizable than they seem
At first glance, they may seem like female military personnel, but it often doesn't take long for people to notice that they're looking at men in drag. However, even those armed with that knowledge may still be a little surprised to learn who these men are.
This is actually a photo of the Rolling Stones during a promotional shoot from 1966. They attracted all sorts of controversy back in their heyday and this shot was just one of the ways the band leaned into their rebellious image.
There should be a couple of familiar faces here
While history buffs likely recognize more than a few of these men, some have legendary reputations as commanders, even among the general public. Specifically, this photo shows the most senior American commanders in charge of the nation's part of the European theater during World War II.
Although Douglas MacArthur is similarly famous among military circles, he's not present because he was a commander in the Asian theater. Nonetheless, polarizing general George S. Patton is here, as is five-star general Omar Bradley and, of course, future U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
A powerful tribute that someone important lived to see
This photo comes from the dedication of Washington D.C.'s famous Lincoln Monument, which took place in 1922. However, there's a reason why the photographer focused more on this sharply dressed man being led up the stairs by military personnel than the monument itself.
That's because the star of this photo is 78-year-old Robert Lincoln, the only surviving child of Abraham Lincoln at the time. He would pass away in 1926, but he lived long enough to see his father beautifully honored in the nation's capital.
This nun saw the future before most other people did
One of Sister Mary Kenneth Keller's great passions in life was education, and she recognized the world-changing potential of computers as an educational tool for all. According to the University of Wisconsin at Madison, it was this goal that led her to pursue and complete a Ph.D. in computer science by 1965.
Although she is credited for being the first woman to do so, the university also noted that she was the first American of any gender to attain this specific honor. Keller followed up this historic honor by founding the entire computer science department at Iowa's Clarke University.
This was a big day at the mess hall
Serving food may normally be a step down in glamor for Hollywood actresses like Marlene Dietrich and Rita Hayworth, but both were committed to the job at the Hollywood Canteen on November 17th, 1942. That's because the customers they were serving were all American soldiers.
Orson Welles, Hayworth, and Dietrich all did their part to raise morale among the troops during World War II, but it was a cause that Dietrich was particularly passionate about. Although she was born in Germany, the political turn that her native country had taken in the decade leading up to the war disgusted her so acutely that she devoted her non-professional life to seeing its regime defeated.
Even the Army knew what he was born to do
According to Military.com, Jimi Hendrix was always committed to devoting his life to music but was compelled to enlist in the U.S. Army to avoid prison after being caught in a stolen car in 1961. Although he was honorably discharged from the 101st Airborne Division after an ankle injury, the Army was as happy to see him go as he was to leave.
As this photo implies, that's because he essentially wouldn't stop playing the guitar while he was enlisted, including late into the night. As one of his commanding officers said at the time, "This is one of his faults because his mind apparently cannot function while performing duties and thinking about his guitar."
They finally got a chance to relax
Just weeks before this photo was taken, all of the people on this vessel were risking their lives to do their respective duties in an unprecedented conflict. However, the joy of World War II's eventual end turned this Coast Guard ship into a pleasure cruise in 1945.
After all, these aren't just random women that the sailors invited on their boat for a good time. They were nurses employed by the U.S. Army, who were just as eager to let loose as the servicemen after having a similar firsthand experience with the darkness of the war.
