Trusted Writing on History, Travel, and American Culture Since 1949
SEARCH 75 YEARS OF ESSAYS!
Featured Essays
Recent rehabilitation of this important site at the Gettysburg battlefield provides a much improved experience for visitors.
A Chinatown cook's fight to re-enter the U.S. in 1895 went up to the Supreme Court, which upheld his claim to birthright citizenship and guaranteed it for all through the 14th Amendment.
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.
America 250!
John Dickinson: Forgotten Founder | Fall 2025, Vol 70, No 4
By Jane E. CalvertDickinson 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.
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
"The Sparck of Rebellion" | Winter 2010, Summer 2025, Vol 59, No 4
By Douglas BrinkleyBadly disguised as Indians, a rowdy group of patriotic vandals kicked a revolution into motion.
The Revolution Could Have Started Here | Summer 2024, Vol 69, No 3
By Bob ThompsonAt a curious stone tower in Somerville, Massachusetts, panic in 1774 could have sparked a war seven months before Lexington and Concord entered the history books.
“Boston Harbor a Tea-pot This Night!” | Spring 2024, Vol 69, No 2
By Benjamin CarpThe 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.
Classic Essays from the Archives
Searching for “Shenandoah” | Winter 2022, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3
By Bruce WatsonIt's one of the oldest folk ballads in our national songbook, but where did it come from? The answer is complex, multi-layered, American.
How My Father and President Kennedy Saved The World | October 2002, Vol 53, No 5
By Sergei KhrushchevThe Cuban Missile Crisis as seen from the Kremlin
The Hawthornes In Paradise | December 1958, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3
By Malcolm CowleyNathaniel was poor and sunk in his solitude; Sophia seemed a hopeless invalid, but a late-flower love gave them at last “a perfect Eden.”
SUPPORT AMERICAN HERITAGE BY BUYING A NEW EBOOK!
