AMERICAN HERITAGE

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Recent rehabilitation of this important site at the Gettysburg battlefield provides a much improved experience for visitors.

Important Early Maps of America

by Edwin S. Grosvenor

In the Age of Discovery, maps held closely guarded secrets for the kings, adventurers, and merchants who first acquired them.

Still “Crazy” for Patsy Cline

by Holley Snaith

Since her untimely death in 1963, the legendary country music star—and the first female to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame—continues to inspire new audiences and artists.

The Birth of Birthright Citizenship

by Joseph Connor

A Chinatown cook's fight to re-enter the U.S. in 1895 went up to the Supreme Court, which upheld his claim to birthright citizenship and guaranteed it for all through the 14th Amendment.

John Dickinson: Forgotten Founder

by Jane E. Calvert

Dickinson played a pivotal role in our Nation’s founding, from the Stamp Act to ratifying the Constitution, but his contributions are largely forgotten by history.

Classic Essays from Our Archives

Lincoln and Presidential Character | October 2020, Vol 65, No 6

By David S. Reynolds

Abraham Lincoln learned much of what made him a great president — honesty, sincerity, toughness, and humility — from his early reading and from studying the lives of Washington and Franklin.

Lincoln As Commander in Chief | Winter 2009, Summer 2025, Vol 58, No 6

By James M. McPherson

Even though he had no military training, Lincoln quickly rose to become one of America’s most talented commanders.

Did Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson Love Each Other? | Fall 2008, Summer 2025, Vol 58, No 5

By Annette Gordon-Reed

To call it a loaded question does not begin to do justice to the matter, given America’s tortured racial history and its haunting legacy.

The Hawthornes In Paradise | December 1958, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3

By Malcolm Cowley

Nathaniel was poor and sunk in his solitude; Sophia seemed a hopeless invalid, but a late-flower love gave them at last “a perfect Eden.”

“Medic!” | November 1997, Vol 48, No 7

By Stephen E. Ambrose

In a hard war, theirs may have been the hardest job of all. Along with Army doctors and nurses, they worked something very close to a miracle in the European theater.

Range Practice | Februrary 1968, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3

By Dean Acheson

Our former Secretary of State recalls his service fifty years ago in the Connecticut National Guard—asthmatic horses, a ubiquitous major, and a memorable shooting practice.

Today in History

DC residents vote for the first time

Resident of Washington D.C. vote for the first time in a presidential election, three years after the ratification of the 23rd Amendment. Incumbent President Lyndon Johnson would defeat Senator Barry Goldwater in a landslide.
Battle of Đắk Tô begins in South Vietnam

The Battle of Đắk Tô begins in the Vietnamese Central Highlands as North Vietnamese units attack American and South Vietnamese forces. While the Vietnamese People's Army could not drive back the American forces, there were significant casualties on both sides.
Ash-Shiraa first reports Iran-Contra affair

Ash-Shiraa, a Lebanese newspaper, reports the sale of American weapons to the Iranian government and the Nicaraguan Contras. According to the reports, the United States had sold weapons to Iran in order to secure the release of Americans held hostage in Lebanon by the terrorist organization Hezbollah.
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