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Recent rehabilitation of this important site at the Gettysburg battlefield provides a much improved experience for visitors.

Dickinson played a pivotal role in our Nation’s founding, from the Stamp Act to ratifying the Constitution, but his contributions are largely forgotten by history.

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

In the Age of Discovery, maps held closely guarded secrets for the kings, adventurers, and merchants who first acquired them.

Since her untimely death in 1963, the legendary country music star—and the first female to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame—continues to inspire new audiences and artists.

Classic Essays from Our Archives

The Day The Civil War Ended | June/July 1978, Vol 29, No 4

By Bruce Catton

At the Gettysburg reunion fifty years after the battle, it was no longer blue and gray. Now it was all gray.

civil war reunion

Lincoln As Commander in Chief | Winter 2009, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3

By James M. McPherson

Even though he had no military training, Lincoln quickly rose to become one of America’s most talented commanders.

lincoln as commander in chief

"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

Two Intimate Enemies | September 2000, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3

By Joseph J. Ellis

When John Adams was elected president, and Thomas Jefferson as vice president, each came to see the other as a traitor. Out of their enmity grew our modern political system.

jefferson adams

The Man of the Century | May/June 1994, Vol 45, No 3

By Arthur Schlesinger Jr.

Of all the Allied leaders, argues FDR's biographer, only Roosevelt saw clearly the shape of the new world they were fighting to create.

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Columbus and Genocide | October 1975, Vol 26, No 6

By Edward T. Stone

The discoverer of the New World was responsible for the annihilation of the peaceful Arawak Indians

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    Today in History

  • Attack on Pearl Harbor

    The Imperial Japanese navy launches a surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor. The attack, which took place during diplomatic talks between Japanese and American officials, killed over 2400 American soldiers and civilians and led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to demand an immediate declaration of war.

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  • Delaware becomes First State

    Delaware becomes the first state to join the Union as its government unanimously ratifies the Constitution.

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  • Willa Cather born

    American novelist Willa Cather is born outside Winchester, Virginia. Cather, who moved to Nebraska when she was nine, is best known for her novels about American frontier life, including My Antonia and O Pioneers!

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