The first man to set foot on the Moon 50 years ago this summer is remembered by his friend and colleague, a former astronaut and administrator at NASA.
Read >>
Authentic brass “crickets” issued to American paratroopers on D-Day are now quite rare. A worldwide search recently “unearthed a lost piece of sound history.”
Read >>
In what many consider the greatest anti-slavery oration ever given, Frederick Douglass called for “the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.”
Read >>
David McCullough’s latest book tells the story of a small group of Revolutionary War veterans and pioneers who set out on an extraordinary 800-mile journey through the wilderness to establish the first settlement in the Ohio Territory.
Read >>
Native American peoples and the lands they possessed loomed large for Washington, from his first trips westward as a surveyor to his years as president.
Read >>
Jefferson had children with his wife, Martha, and then with his and slave, Sally Hemings, and these children lived very different lives as a result of their race.
Read >>
While Arnold is a villain in the eyes of most Americans, he was considered the most brilliant officer on either side of the Revolutionary War. Why would he commit a crime so inexcusable?
Read >>
Largely overlooked in histories of the Revolution, the Battle of the Chesapeake is in fact one of the most important naval engagements in history, leading to the American victory at Yorktown.
Read >>
The American War for Independence was part of an international trend -- a new focus on the individual that inspired people to new insights, new proclamations, and new assertions of rights.
Read >>
Ambitious, temperamental, and passionate, George Washington learned the skills in the French and Indian War that laid the groundwork for the great leader that he would become.
Read >>
The late Tony Horwitz, in his own epic journey, followed in the footsteps of Frederick Law Olmsted, who traveled through the South just before the Civil War to learn about our nation in divided times. Here are some of his observations from West Virginia.
Read >>
A team from American Heritage helped document some of the most important maps of the Revolution — still stored in the medieval English castle where scenes from Harry Potter were later filmed.
Read >>
We will never learn from the past if we've forgotten it. Now there's been a dramatic decline in the number of college students studying history.
Read >>
The struggles and triumphs of our presidents have been central to shaping our nation, even though they operated under a Constitution that didn’t grant them unilateral power.
Read >>
The first ten amendments prevent majorities from exercising power at the expense of individuals. But they weren’t called a “bill of rights” until more than a century after ratification.
Read >>
Largely unknown to his cabinet, Ronald Reagan broke with previous U.S. policy and initiated a global campaign of economic and political warfare against the Soviets.
Read >>
While much of the world still faces restrictions on religion, America's unique approach brought about both religious freedom and spiritual vibrancy.
Read >>
TR’s zeal for athletics helped lead to the emergence of modern sports in America, including interscholastic competition, the NCAA, the World Series, and the first Olympics in the U.S.
Read >>
To find out what the Founding generation said about "well-regulated militias" and the right to bear arms, we researched all the colonial and state constitutions enacted before 1791.
Read >>
Twenty-two years ago, the Soviet parliament suspended the Communist Party after the failure of a dramatic coup attempt to remove Gorbachev.
Read >>
Enjoy our work? Help us keep going.
Now in its 75th year, American Heritage relies on contributions from readers like you to survive. You can support this magazine of trusted historical writing and the volunteers that sustain it by donating today.
