AMERICAN HERITAGE

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.”

The Genius of America: Our Constitution

by Eric Lane

America’s extraordinary success is directly related to its unique form of government embodied in the Constitution.

They Turned the World Upside Down

by Richard Bell

American patriots began a conflict that spread around the globe.

“The Law is King”

by Matthew Spalding

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

America 250!

The Plight of Massachusetts Loyalists | Spring 2024, Vol 69, No 2

By Larry C. Kerpelman

In “the cradle of the American Revolution,” loyalists to the Crown faced a harsh choice: live with terrible abuse where they were, or flee to friendlier, but alien regions.

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.

The Turning Point in the Revolutionary War | October 1997, Vol 48, No 6

By Richard M. Ketchum

Rethinking the Boston Massacre | Special Issue - George Washington Prize 2018, Vol 63, No 2

By Eric Hinderaker

It is one of the most notorious incidents in American history, and also one of the least understood.

Discovered: First Maps of the American Revolution | Spring 2025, Vol 70, No 2

By Edwin S. Grosvenor

Previously unknown, a map drawn by Lord Percy, the British commander at Lexington, sheds new light on the perilous retreat to Boston 250 years ago this month.

Classic Essays from the Archives

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.”

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.

Range Practice | Februrary 1968, Summer 2025, Vol 19, No 2

By Dean Acheson

Our former Secretary of State recalls his service fifty years ago in the Connecticut National Guard—asthmatic horses, a ubiquitous major, and a memorable shooting practice.