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Featured Essays
As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, our founding charter remains central to our national life, unifying us and paving the way for what we have long called “the American Dream.”
America’s extraordinary success is directly related to its unique form of government embodied in the Constitution.
America 250!
Drama at the Old North Bridge | Spring 2025, Vol 70, No 2
By Rick Atkinson“Now the war has begun and no one knows when it will end,” said one minuteman after the fight.
“Shall We Have a King?” | Fall 2025, Vol 70, No 4
By William E. LeuchtenburgSome delegates at the Constitutional Convention wanted a strong executive, while others feared the American president might become a king.
American Rebels at Sea | Summer 2022, Vol 67, No 3
By Eric Jay DolinAn estimated 1500 privateering ships played a crucial role in winning the American Revolution, but their contributions are often forgotten.
Lafayette: A Hero Among Heroes | Summer 2021, Vol 65, No 5
By Harlow Giles UngerNo figure in the Revolutionary era inspired as much affection and reverence as Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette
Knox Brings Cannon and Victory to General Washington | Fall 2025, Vol 70, No 4
By Edwin S. GrosvenorSetting out 250 years ago this month, Henry Knox’s “Noble Train” carried 60 tons of desperately needed artillery to help patriots oust British forces from Boston.
Classic Essays from the Archives
America: Experiment or Destiny? | June 1977, Summer 2025, 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.
The Hawthornes In Paradise | December 1958, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3
By Malcolm CowleyNathaniel 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. AmbroseIn 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.
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