It is rare for any magazine to live half a century. This one’s unusual longevity has been immeasurably helped by the circumstances of its birth, when a brilliant array of people came together hoping to produce a publication for all those interested in our American story. 1, for one, have a personal stake in this account, as my father, Robert L. Reynolds (192481), was on the American Heritage staff—ending as managing editor—from 1958 through 1970. But even for those with no familial tie to the magazine, the story of how the founders and staff of Heritage brought it about is a fascinating one.

It was almost no story at all. Research published here for the first time reveals an undertaking that came within hours of complete failure. But the founders were as tough and persevering as they were gifted. Not only did they save an evidently doomed enterprise in its infancy, they passed on to their successors a tone and quality, set 50 years ago this month, that still rests squarely upon the shoulders of James Parton, Oliver Jensen, and Joseph J. Thorndike, Jr.

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