AMERICAN HERITAGE

Featured Articles

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

John Dickinson: Forgotten Founder

by Jane E. Calvert

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.

“Shall We Have a King?”

by William E. Leuchtenburg

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

Important Early Maps of America

by Edwin S. Grosvenor

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

Still “Crazy” for Patsy Cline

by Holley Snaith

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

Growing Up Colored | Summer 2012, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3

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.

Finding the Real Jamestown | Winter 2008, Summer 2025, Vol 58, No 1

By William M. Kelso

The archaeologist who discovered the real Jamestown debunks myths, and answers age-old mysteries about North America's first successful English colony.

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.

Did Castro Okay the Kennedy Assassination? | Winter 2009, Vol 58, No 6

By Gus Russo

Incriminating new evidence has come to light in KGB files and the authors' interviews of former Cuban intelligence officers which indicates that Fidel Castro probably knew in advance of Oswald's intent to kill JFK.

Ike's Son Remembers George S. Patton Jr. | Summer 2012, Vol 62, No 2

By John D. Eisenhower

The author, who once served under General Patton and whose father, Dwight D. Eisenhower, was Patton's commanding officer, shares his memories of "Ol' Blood and Guts."

"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.

Today in History

General James McPherson born

Union Major General James McPherson is born in Clyde, Ohio. McPherson graduated first in the West Point Class of 1853 and spent his entire career in the United States Army before being mortally wounded at the Battle of Atlanta in 1864.
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Apalachin Meeting

State and local law enforcement raid the Apalachin Meeting of over one hundred North American mafiosi, who had gathered at the rural estate of Joseph "Joe the Barber" Barbara. By arresting and questioning a majority of the mafiosi, the federal government confirmed the presence of the American mafia.
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Joe McCarthy born

Future United States Senator Joseph McCarthy is born in Grand Chute, Wisconsin. McCarthy served in the Marines during World War II before being elected to represent Wisconsin the Senate, where he served from 1947 until his death in 1957. McCarthy is most famous for his campaign to identify and quash communist threats during the Cold War, better known as McCarthyism.
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