Incensed that many leading European scientists had belittled North America's climate and fauna, Thomas Jefferson shipped them evidence and published a long reply in Notes on the State of Virginia.
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It became convenient to portray Benedict Arnold as a conniving traitor, but the truth is more complex. The brilliant general often failed to get credit for his military wins, suffered painful wounds, lost his fortune while others profiteered, and finally gave up on the disorganized and often ineffective efforts to win the American Revolution. Read >>
It is important to tell the story of the Constitution’s origins in a way that demythifies it. Impressive as they were, the men who wrote the Constitution were not demigods; they had interests, prejudices, and moral blind spots.
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The battle of Monmouth was pivotal in the struggle for independence, enabling George Washington to change the narrative of the war and eventually solidify his own role in our nation's history.
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It's often portrayed as an orderly conflict between patriots, Tories, and British, but the American Revolution caused much suffering, dislocation, and economic decline, and had major effects on Native Americans and Spanish, French, Dutch, and other colonists worldwide.
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To explore the American Revolution through the eyes of John Singleton Copley is to see it with fresh eyes, to understand that it was a civil war with many shades of allegiance.
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The author was a high school football player when a junior coach from West Point tried to recruit him. Years later, the player discovered who the now-famous coach was, and learned a valuable lesson.
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Bill Veeck changed baseball forever, integrating the American League in 1949 and creating a variety of stunts and promotions to bring more people to the stadium.
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Arthur Clarke predicted that a revolution in communications would bring electronic mail, telecommuting, the internet, and inexpensive long-distance calls in an important, but forgotten 1962 essay, published by American Heritage.
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Once the most famous Chinese dish in America, chop suey helped spur the growth of Chinese restaurants. A Smithsonian curator is now criss-crossing the country to research its beginnings.
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Members of the Maryland Forces guard the memories of the dramatic history at Fort Frederick, the best-preserved fort from the former English colonies in America.
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Working closely with President Lincoln, Secretary of War Stanton was tireless in his dedication to help win the Civil War. But his abruptness could sometimes be counterproductive.
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