AMERICAN HERITAGE

Featured Articles

Discovered: First Maps of the American Revolution

Previously unknown, a map drawn by Lord Percy, the British commander at Lexington, sheds new light on the perilous retreat to Boston 250 years ago this month.

The Shots Heard Round the World

by John Ferling

What began as a civil war within the British Empire continued until it became a wider conflict affecting peoples and countries across Europe and North America.

The Forgotten Battle of Menotomy

by Michael Ruderman

Overshadowed in memory by Lexington and Concord, the Massachusetts town of Menotomy saw the most violent and deadly fighting on April 19, 1775.

Introduction: Revisiting Concord and Lexington

by Edwin S. Grosvenor

This special issue looks at the dramatic and momentous events that occurred 250 years ago this month.

Drama at the Old North Bridge

by Rick Atkinson

“Now the war has begun and no one knows when it will end,” said one minuteman after the fight.

Classic Essays from Our Archives

“The Miraculous Care Of Providence” | February/March 1982, Vol 33, No 2

By James Thomas Flexner

George Washington’s Narrow Escapes

America: Experiment or Destiny? | June 1977, Vol 28, No 4

By Arthur Schlesinger Jr.

We can take pride in our nation, not as we pretend to a commission from God and a sacred destiny, but as we struggle to fulfill our deepest values in an inscrutable world.

Searching for “Shenandoah” | Winter 2022, Vol 67, No 1

By Bruce Watson

It's one of the oldest folk ballads in our national songbook, but where did it come from? The answer is complex, multi-layered, American.

Two Intimate Enemies | September 2000, Vol 51, No 5

By Joseph J. Ellis

When John Adams was elected president, and Thomas Jefferson as vice president, each came to see the other as a traitor. Out of their enmity grew our modern political system.

Alice Paul: “I Was Arrested, Of Course…” | February 1974, Vol 25, No 2

By Robert S. Gallagher

An interview with the famed suffragette, Alice Paul

The Meaning of 1918 | Fall 2018 - World War I Special Issue, Vol 63, No 3

By John Lukacs

A century after the guns fell silent along the Western Front, the work they did there remains of incalculable importance to the age we inhabit and the people we are.

Today in History

Johnson acquitted in impeachment trial

The Senate cannot reach a 2/3 majority vote, acquitting President Andrew Johnson of eleven articles of impeachment. His impeachment stemmed from the dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, which violated the recently-instituted Tenure of Office Act. The measure fell one vote short of conviction and after two subsequent unsuccessul votes, Johnson remained in office.
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Sedition Act of 1918 passes

President Woodrow Wilson signs the Sedition Act of 1918 into law, making it illegal to use profane or malicious language towards the United States government. The act, passed in the context of World War I, amended the Espionage Act of 1917, which punished Americans citizens who worked with unfriendly foreign governments or interfered with military recruitment and the sale of war bonds.
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First Oscars

The first Academy Awards are given out at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood, honoring outstanding achievements in film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had already announced the winners three months prior, and the First Academy Awards was the only ceremony not on the radio or television.