Walter Karp

Walter Karp (1934-1989), was a long-time contributor to American Heritage. A journalist and historian, Karp wrote on the Founding Fathers, the Western movement, and the American political movements. His most famous work, The Politics of War: The Story of Two Wars Which Altered Forever the Political Life of the American Republic, was published in 1979.

Articles by this Author

The Powder-Maker’s Garden, April 1990 | Vol. 41, No. 3

When Pierre S. du Pont bought the deteriorated Longwood Gardens in 1906, he thought that owning property was a sign of mental derangement. Still, he worked hard to create a stupendous fantasy garden, a place, he said, “where I can entertain my friends.”

Thomas Gilcrease and His Western Museum, February 1990 | Vol. 41, No. 1

How Creek Indian number 1501 repaid a debt

The Quiz-Show Scandal, May/June 1989 | Vol. 40, No. 4

Stempel’s winning technique was simplicity itself: He got all the questions in advance.

Where the Media Critics Went Wrong, March 1988 | Vol. 39, No. 2

The early critics of television predicted that the new medium would make Americans passively obedient to the powers-that-be. But they badly underestimated us.

A Fascination with the Common Place, August/September 1986 | Vol. 37, No. 5

The vast jumble of objects that once brought solace to an eccentric heiress has become a great museum of the middle class.

I. The Hour Of The Founders, June/July 1984 | Vol. 35, No. 4

In which a President fails to fulfill his constitutional duty to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” And a reluctant Congress acts.

Truman Vs. MacArthur, April/May 1984 | Vol. 35, No. 3

When the President fired the general, civilian control of the military faced its severest test in our history

The Essex Disaster, April/May 1983 | Vol. 34, No. 3

She was the first whaleship ever sunk by her prey. But that’s not why she’s remembered.

Henry Francis Du Pont And The Invention Of Winterthur, April/May 1983 | Vol. 34, No. 3

How a shy millionaire’s peculiar genius transformed his “country place” into an unparalleled showcase of American furnishings A HERITAGE PRESERVED

Putting Worms Back In Apples, August/September 1982 | Vol. 33, No. 5

In reconstructing the past, Old Sturbridge Village is doing a lot more than selling penny candy and buggy rides. Struggling for verisimilitude, curators are raising scrawny chickens, trudging behind 150-year-old plows—and keeping pesticides out of the orchards.

Electra Webb And Her American Past, April/May 1982 | Vol. 33, No. 3

How a brave and gifted woman defied her parents and her background to create the splendid collection that is Shelburne

“My Gawd, They’ve Sold the Town”, August/september 1981 | Vol. 32, No. 5

How the happy combination of a millionaire and, a parson gave us Colonial Williamsburg, a place of surpassing loveliness—and a continuing reminder of what a truly bold enterprise our Revolution was

The Central Park, April/May 1981 | Vol. 32, No. 3

When Bunkers Last In The Backyard Bloom—d, February/March 1980 | Vol. 31, No. 2

The fallout-shelter craze of 1961

Greenfield Village, December 1980 | Vol. 32, No. 1

What happened when the richest man in America decided to collect one of everything

Wounded Knee Between The Wars, December 1973 | Vol. 25, No. 1

The American Land As It Was, December 1969 | Vol. 21, No. 1

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