Trusted Writing on History, Travel, and American Culture Since 1949
SEARCH 75 YEARS OF ESSAYS!
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!
Big Guns For Washington | April 1955, Vol 6, No 3
By Clay PerryHow tough Henry Knox hauled a train of cannon over wintry trails to help drive the British away from Boston
“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.
With Little Less Than Savage Fury | Fall 2010, Vol 60, No 3
By Thomas B. AllenAmerica’s first civil war took place during the Revolution, an ultra-violent, family-splitting, and often vindictive conflict between "patriots" and loyalists.
They Turned the World Upside Down | Winter 2026, Vol 71, No 1
By Richard BellAmerican patriots began a conflict that spread around the globe.
The Battle that Led to Victory at Yorktown | Fall 2019 - George Washington Prize Books, Vol 64, No 5
By Nathaniel PhilbrickLargely overlooked in histories of the Revolution, the Battle of the Chesapeake is in fact one of the most important naval engagements in history, leading to the American victory at Yorktown.
Classic Essays from the Archives
Did Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson Love Each Other? | Fall 2008, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3
By Annette Gordon-ReedTo call it a loaded question does not begin to do justice to the matter, given America’s tortured racial history and its haunting legacy.
Growing Up Colored | Summer 2012, Summer 2025, Vol 62, No 2
By Henry Louis Gates Jr.The noted writer and educator tells of his boyhood in the West Virginia town of Piedmont, where African Americans were second-class citizens, but family pride ran deep.
The Conversion of Harry Truman | November 1991, Vol 42, No 7
By William E. LeuchtenburgA child of the South's "Lost Cause," Truman broke with his convictions to make civil rights a concern of the national government for the first time since Reconstruction. In so doing, he changed the nation forever.
SUPPORT AMERICAN HERITAGE BY BUYING A NEW EBOOK!
