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Articles Recently Featured from Our Archives
The Frémonts Open the West | Winter 2020, Vol 64, No 1
With five major exploring expeditions west of the Mississippi, John C. Frémont redefined the country — with the help of his wife’s promotional skills.
Corruption and Treason in the Buchanan Cabinet | February/March 2021, Vol 66, No 2
Did the James Buchanan know his Secretary of War, a future Confederate general, sent 110,000 muskets to armories in the South in 1860?
Harding and Teapot Dome | February/March 2021, Vol 66, No 2
Prior to Watergate, Harding's bribery ring was regarded as the greatest and most sensational scandal in the history of American politics.
The Reasonable Right to Bear Arms | September/October 2019, Vol 64, No 4
The Supreme Court left the door open for reasonable regulations of guns if Congress has the will to act.
A History of Gun Rights in America | September/October 2019, Vol 64, No 4
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.
Freedom of Religion: America’s Greatest Invention | Winter 2020, Vol 64, No 1
While much of the world still faces restrictions on religion, America's unique approach brought about both religious freedom and spiritual vibrancy.
George Washington Invents the Presidency | Winter 2020, Vol 64, No 1
The young nation was lucky to have the only candidate on earth who could do the job.
Madison and the Invention of Congress | Winter 2020, Vol 64, No 1
Members of the first Federal Congress had to create a new government almost from scratch.
FDR's New Deal | Winter 2020, Vol 64, No 1
Roosevelt felt the country needed “direct, vigorous action” to pull it out of the Depression.
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.
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.
McCullough's "The Pioneers" | Summer 2019, Vol 64, No 3
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.
The Legend of Mickey Mantle | September/October 2019, Vol 64, No 4
He was unlike any other baseball star in America, a blond-haired boy from the heartland whose raw power and mythical purity made him a hero
Light-Horse Harry's Tragic Fight for Freedom of the Press | Summer 2019, Vol 64, No 3
In the bitter debate over the War of 1812, the decorated veteran nearly died fighting a Baltimore mob in defense of an unpopular Federalist publisher.
A Comedy of Errors at the Nobel Prize | Spring 2019, Vol 64, No 2
We've gotten one farce after another from the secretive judges at the Swedish Academy who confer the world's most prestigious prize for literature
Mary Trump: The Lucky Lass from Stornoway | September 2020, Vol 65, No 5
The daughter of a Gaelic-speaking fisherman on a remote Scottish island emigrated to New York, worked as a maid in the Carnegie Mansion, and married Fred Trump. Her son would become President.
Blackface: the Sad History of Minstrel Shows | Winter 2019, Vol 64, No 1
For most of the 1800s, whites in blackface performed in widely popular minstrel shows, creating racist stereotypes that endured for more than a century.
The Importance of Mill Springs | Winter 2019, Vol 64, No 1
The first significant Union victory in the Civil War is now honored at one of the newest National Monuments. It was a battle too often ignored by historians and the public.
1619: The Year That Shaped America | Winter 2019, Vol 64, No 1
Four hundred years ago this year, two momentous events happened in Britain’s fledgling colony in Virginia: the New World’s first democratic assembly convened, and an English privateer brought kidnapped Africans to sell as slaves. Such were the conflicted origins of modern America.
Agony and Triumph at Anzio | Winter 2019, Vol 64, No 1
Seventy-five years ago, Allied soldiers made a daring amphibious landing behind German lines and were soon surrounded in what would become one of the toughest battles of World War II
American Civilians Defend Against U-Boats | Spring 2020, Vol 65, No 2
In 1942, over a quarter of a million ordinary citizens volunteered to help defend our country as Nazi submarines terrorized the East Coast and Caribbean waters, sinking fuel tankers and cargo ships with near impunity.
Agony of the Lost Battalion | Fall 2018 - World War I Special Issue, Vol 63, No 3
In October 1918, 600 men of the 77th Division attacked a heavily defended German position, charging forward until they were completely surrounded by enemy forces. Only 194 men walked out when they were finally rescued.
The Meaning of 1918 | Fall 2018 - World War I Special Issue, Vol 63, No 3
A century after the guns fell silent along the Western Front, the work they did there remains of incalculable importance to the age we inhabit and the people we are
How One Man Launched a Revolution | Spring 2018 , Vol 63, No 1
Thomas Paine's Common Sense helped Americans "decide upon the propriety of separation,” as George Washington said.
Billy the Kid: From Outlaw to Legend | Spring 2018 , Vol 63, No 1
Interest in the outlaw has grown recently with the discovery of the first authenticated photographs of Henry McCarty, who died at the age of 21 after a short, notorious life of gambling and gunfights.
McKinley Reconsidered | Spring 2018 , Vol 63, No 1
Although his flamboyant successor, Theodore Roosevelt, largely overshadowed him, William McKinney deserves credit for establishing the U.S. as a global power, acquiring Hawaii and Puerto Rico, establishing the “fair trade” doctrine, and paving the way for TR’s accomplishments.
The Strangest Army-Navy Game Ever Played? | Spring 2018 , Vol 63, No 1
Because of wartime gas rationing, Congress and the Administration debated cancelling the famous gridiron match-up between Army and Navy in 1942. President Roosevelt found a novel solution.
Laura Ingalls Wilder, Pioneer Girl | November 2020, Vol 65, No 7
A historian looks at the distinctive Midwestern identity of Wilder and her "Little House on the Prairie" books.
The Day When We Almost Lost the Army | Spring 2012, Vol 62, No 1
Debate over America's involvement in World War II came to a head in July 1941 as the Senate argued over a draft extension bill. The decision would have profound consequences for the nation.
A Graceful Exit | Winter 2010, Vol 59, No 4
In one momentous decision, Robert E. Lee spared the United States years of divisive violence