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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!

Samuel Adams Starts a Revolution | May 2023, Vol 68, No 3

By Stacy Schiff

Enlisting an army of alter egos, Adams used the Boston press to make the case for American independence and to orchestrate a burgeoning rebellion.

sam

“Shall We Have a King?” | Fall 2025, Vol 70, No 4

By William E. Leuchtenburg

Some delegates at the Constitutional Convention wanted a strong executive, while others feared the American president might become a king.

constitutional convention

“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. 

john lamb

An Update on “Save the Glover!” | , Vol 71, No 2

By Nancy L. Schultz

Efforts continue to preserve the historic home of General John Glover in Swampscott, Massachusetts, which is still slated for demolition.

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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.

drama at old north bridge

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.

american destiny

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.

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Herbert Hoover Describes the Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson | June 1958, Vol 9, No 4

By Herbert Hoover

The great tragedy of the twenty-eighth President as witnessed by his loyal lieutenant, the thirty-first.

woodrow wilson

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