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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.

American patriots began a conflict that spread around the globe.

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

America 250!

Boston's Freedom Trail | July/August 2020, Vol 65, No 4

By Brent Glass

Sixteen historic sites in Boston remind Americans of the events that led to our nation’s birth, from the Boston Massacre to Breed's Hill and the USS Constitution.

freedom trail

“Boston Harbor a Tea-pot This Night!”  | Spring 2024, Vol 69, No 2

By Benjamin Carp

The dumping of tons of tea in protest set the stage for the American Revolution and was a window on the culture and attitudes of the time.

boston tea party

American Rebels at Sea | Summer 2022, Vol 67, No 3

By Eric Jay Dolin

An estimated 1500 privateering ships played a crucial role in winning the American Revolution, but their contributions are often forgotten.

privateers

Big Guns For Washington | April 1955, Vol 6, No 3

By Clay Perry

How tough Henry Knox hauled a train of cannon over wintry trails to help drive the British away from Boston

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"The Sparck of Rebellion" | Winter 2010, Summer 2025, Vol 59, No 4

By Douglas Brinkley

Badly disguised as Indians, a rowdy group of patriotic vandals kicked a revolution into motion.

boston tea party

Classic Essays from the Archives

Did Castro Okay the Kennedy Assassination? | Winter 2009, Vol 58, No 6

By Gus Russo

Incriminating new evidence has come to light in KGB files and the authors' interviews of former Cuban intelligence officers which indicates that Fidel Castro probably knew in advance of Oswald's intent to kill JFK.

jfk

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.”

Hawthorne Peabody

"The Sparck of Rebellion" | Winter 2010, Summer 2025, Vol 59, No 4

By Douglas Brinkley

Badly disguised as Indians, a rowdy group of patriotic vandals kicked a revolution into motion.

boston tea party

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