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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

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

Alice Paul: “I Was Arrested, Of Course…” | February 1974, Summer 2025, Vol 25, No 2

By Robert S. Gallagher

An interview with the famed suffragette, Alice Paul

alice paul

Lincoln As Commander in Chief | Winter 2009, Summer 2025, Vol 58, No 6

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

America: Experiment or Destiny? | June 1977, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3

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

A Few Parchment Pages Two Hundred Years Later | May/June 1987, Summer 2025, Vol 38, No 4

By Richard B. Morris

The framers of the Constitution were proud of what they had done but might be astonished that their words still carry so much weight. A distinguished scholar tells us how the great charter has survived and flourished.

framers

Did Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson Love Each Other? | Fall 2008, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3

By Annette Gordon-Reed

To call it a loaded question does not begin to do justice to the matter, given America’s tortured racial history and its haunting legacy.

hemings jefferson

    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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