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 Contributor
April/May 1984
When the President fired the general, civilian control of the military faced its severest test in our history
June/july 1984
In which a President fails to fulfill his constitutional duty to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” And a reluctant Congress acts.
August/September 1986
The vast jumble of objects that once brought solace to an eccentric heiress has become a great museum of the middle class
March 1988
The early critics of television predicted the new medium would make Americans passively obedient to the powers that be. But they badly underestimated us.
February 1990
How Creek Indian number 1501 repaid a debt
April 1990
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.”

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Why do we need a national nonprofit membership society for American history?
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“Save America’s Treasures” has been totally eliminated—the largest Federal program supporting preservation of such treasures as the original Star Spangled Banner and George Washington’s tent.
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65% of Americans don’t know what happened at the Constitutional Convention, according to a recent survey by Newsweek.
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The “Teaching American History” grants—the largest Federal program supporting history education—have been completely eliminated.
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Visits to the Top 20 Civil War battlefields have dropped in half from 1970 to 2009 according to official National Park Service statistics.
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40% of Americans can’t identify whom we fought in World War II, according to a recent survey by Newsweek.
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A quarter of Americans believe Congress shares power over U.S. foreign policy with the United Nations, according to a recent Annenberg survey.
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“There is little that is more important for an American citizen to know than the history and traditions of his country,” John F. Kennedy wrote in American Heritage.
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The “We the People Program,” which touched some 30 million students and 90,000 teachers over 25 years, has been completely eliminated.
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Two-thirds of Americans could not correctly name Yorktown as the last major military action of the American Revolution, according to a recent national Gallup survey.
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The National Heritage Areas and Scenic Byways program, the only major Federal program encouraging visits to historic places, has been completely eliminated in Congressional committee.




