Skip to main content

Search Stories

Rush was a visionary writer and reformer, a confidant to John Adams, Washington's surgeon general, and opponent of slavery and prejudice, yet he's not a well-known founding father.  Read >>
The annual Burning Man Festival in Black Rock City, Nevada, is a week-long binge of festive dress, radical inclusion, and pyrotechnic display that has become a spiritual phenomenon. Read >>
American Heritage is launching a major effort to research and promote historic taverns from the Founding era. Read >>
Seventy-five years ago, Ernest Hemingway and a historian were among the first Americans to enter Paris as guns were still firing. Read >>
After ten years of research into the history of gun rights, it’s clear that most Americans' understanding of the “right to bear arms” is not consistent with historical facts. Read >>
Given the recent tragic shootings, historians should play a role in providing dispassionate facts regarding the history of gun rights and gun control. Read >>
The Supreme Court left the door open for reasonable regulations of guns, if Congress has the will to act. Read >>
One of the best-known advocates of gun rights outlines where he thinks compromise is possible. Read >>
To know what the Framers intended, we need to understand the late-18th century historical context. Read >>
Here are some amusing -- and some very sad -- images we collected from the archives of American Heritage. Read >>
A leading expert who helped a dozen nations write their constitutions explains how the Founders' ideas have had a lasting influence at home and abroad. Read >>
Jackson had deep flaws, but he left a lasting legacy, strengthening the executive office and striving to represent as many Americans as possible. Read >>
The untrained soldiers who fought at the Alamo believed freedom and the struggle for a better life were worth dying for. Read >>
Jewish philanthropist Julius Rosenwald built almost 5000 schools for African-Americans and helped educate hundreds of thousands of students. Read >>
Congress debated a resolution to impeach Jefferson because of an appointment that Federalists thought suspicious — an early precedent that clarified Congressional roles in oversight. Read >>
Representatives objected to Tyler’s vetoes, arguing that the president should be “dependent upon and responsible to” Congress. Read >>
Nixon’s abuse of presidential power constitutes his most important influence on later constitutional law and U.S. politics. Read >>
Lincoln's first Secretary of War amassed a fortune at the start of the Civil War, forcing a congressional investigation.  Read >>
McKinley and his Secretary of War were accused of negligence and corruption in the conflict, including forcing soldiers to eat "embalmed beef." Read >>
Prior to Watergate, Harding's bribery ring was regarded as the greatest and most sensational scandal in the history of American politics. Read >>
Although he was scrupulously honest, Andrew Johnson angered members of Congress by thwarting their plans for Reconstruction. Read >>
President Monroe was considered guilty of impropriety, not wrongdoing. But his reputation suffered. Read >>
Did James Buchanan know that his Secretary of War, a future Confederate general, sent 110,000 muskets to armories in the South in 1860? Read >>
Ulysses S. Grant had to respond to more charges of financial misconduct than any other president. Read >>
To many voters—some Republicans, as well as most Democrats—Hayes' title to the presidency was a fraudulent one. Read >>
After the Department of Justice brought suit to nullify the Bell telephone patents, it was discovered the action could have made Attorney General Garland a multi-millionaire. 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.

Donate