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Featured Essays
Some writers ignore a mountain of evidence that is contrary to their theories about the telephone's development.
Our Founders profoundly transformed the way people participate in government.
Congress forbade living persons from appearing on paper currency in 1866, after an unpopular Treasury Department official put himself on the five-cent note.
The extravaganza celebrating the nation’s first century was the greatest cultural event of America’s Gilded Age.
America 250!
The Turning Point in the Revolutionary War | October 1997, Vol 48, No 6
By Richard M. Ketchum
The Declaration Still Unites Our Nation | Winter 2026, Vol 71, No 1
By Michael AuslinAs 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.”
Making Sense of the Fourth of July | July/August 1997, Vol 48, No 4
By Pauline MaierThe Declaration of Independence is not what Thomas Jefferson thought it was when he wrote it, and that's why we celebrate it.
An Update on “Save the Glover!” | Spring 2026, Vol 71, No 2
By Nancy L. SchultzEfforts continue to preserve the historic home of General John Glover in Swampscott, Massachusetts, which is still slated for demolition.
How One Man Launched a Revolution | Spring 2018 , Vol 63, No 1
By Christine GibsonThomas Paine's Common Sense helped Americans "decide upon the propriety of separation,” as George Washington said.
Classic Essays from the Archives
Lincoln As Commander in Chief | Winter 2009, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3
By James M. McPhersonEven though he had no military training, Lincoln quickly rose to become one of America’s most talented commanders.
Alice Paul: “I Was Arrested, Of Course…” | February 1974, Summer 2025, Vol 25, No 2
By Robert S. GallagherAn interview with the famed suffragette, Alice Paul
FDR and His Women | March 2003, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3
By Ellen FeldmanA novelist who has just spent several years studying Eleanor Roosevelt, Lucy Rutherfurd, and Missy LeHand tells a moving story of love: public and private, given and withheld.
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