AMERICAN HERITAGE

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.”

The Genius of America: Our Constitution

by Eric Lane

America’s extraordinary success is directly related to its unique form of government embodied in the Constitution.

They Turned the World Upside Down

by Richard Bell

American patriots began a conflict that spread around the globe.

“The Law is King”

by Matthew Spalding

The Rule of Law is the great foundation of our Constitution and our Nation.

America 250!

For America’s 250th Birthday, Let’s Think Local | Summer 2023, Vol 68, No 4

By Hans Zeiger

Communities around the U.S. hope that the nation's upcoming 250th anniversary will inspire Americans to appreciate the importance of shared experience and preserving history.

With Little Less Than Savage Fury | Fall 2010, Vol 60, No 3

By Thomas B. Allen

America’s first civil war took place during the Revolution, an ultra-violent, family-splitting, and often vindictive conflict between "patriots" and loyalists.

The Revolution Could Have Started Here | Summer 2024, Vol 69, No 3

By Bob Thompson

At a curious stone tower in Somerville, Massachusetts, panic in 1774 could have sparked a war seven months before Lexington and Concord entered the history books.

“The Die is Now Cast” | November/December 2024, Vol 69, No 5

By Joseph J. Ellis

American resistance to British authority developed with stunning speed 250 years ago in response to George III’s inflexibility.

Lafayette: A Hero Among Heroes | Summer 2021, Vol 65, No 5

By Harlow Giles Unger

No figure in the Revolutionary era inspired as much affection and reverence as Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette

Classic Essays from the Archives

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.”

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.