Trusted Writing on History, Travel, and American Culture Since 1949
SEARCH 75 YEARS OF ESSAYS!
Politics
New scrutiny questions the record of Woodrow Wilson, long thought to be one of our greatest presidents.
Editor’s Note: Christopher Cox has served as a White House counsel, the fifth-ranking leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, and chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A Constitutional crisis erupted when President Lincoln authorized the Army to arrest suspicious persons without due process after Maryland rebels tried to cut off Washington.
Editor’s Note: Joseph Connor is a Contributing Editor for American Heritage, member of the Supreme Court bar, and former prosecutor at the Morris County (NJ) Prosecutor's Office.
After surviving a brutal beating during the 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, John Lewis went on to serve 17 terms in Congress.
Members of “the world’s greatest deliberative body” once put the country’s interests first.
What does history tell us about presidents who have tried to push the limits of the system?
Editor’s Note: Todd Belt is a Professor and Director of the Political Management Master's Program at George Washington University.
As president, Dwight D. Eisenhower took a moderate position on many issues, believing that “good judgment seeks balance and progress.”
An exhibit of treasures from the largest private collection of political memorabilia recently opened on Long Island.
President Johnson shocked the nation when he ended his bid for reelection in 1968. As early as 1964, Lady Bird had suggested that he might not want to run for a second term.
Editor’s Note: Too often, historians have underestimated the role that Lady Bird played in Lyndon Johnson’s political life.
Caught between his campaign for president and his duties as governor, FDR navigated political pressures to force the resignation of New York City’s corrupt mayor, Jimmy Walker.
Many historians and the author of a recent book have seriously misjudged the influential former vice president and cabinet secretary.
In an instant on November 22, 1963, morning in America became mourning in America.
Lincoln’s Secretary of the Treasury helped win the Civil War with his many financial innovations, and was an ardent advocate of emancipation.
Editor's Note: Walter Stahr is a historian whose essay “The Struggles of Edwin Stanton” appeared in the Fall 2017 issue of American Heritage.
The president worried that his grandson had “an unconquerable indolence of temper, and a dereliction, in fact, to all study.”
He could be charming and witty, but also devious and cruel, said aides closest to Franklin Roosevelt.
Important new information on the central figure in the early American republic has surfaced with the publication of new volumes of Jefferson's journals and correspondence.
In late autumn of 1793, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson was in Germantown, Pennsylvania, then the nation’s temporary capital.
Important new information on the central figure in the early American republic has surfaced with the publication of new volumes of Jefferson's journals and correspondence.
In late autumn of 1793, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson was in Germantown, Pennsylvania, then the nation’s temporary capital.
His political satire made Buchwald one of America’s most widely read columnists.
Today’s budget wars would be unrecognizable to earlier generations of Americans. A veteran reporter on government looks at the history of shutdowns and battles over the budget.
Often thought to have been a weak president, Carter was strong-willed in doing what he thought was right, regardless of expediency or the political fallout.
In his last months, Ted Kennedy was inspired by passing the torch to a new generation.
Crédit Mobilier, one of the worst outrages in the history of Congress, affected national elections and gave “the Gilded Age” its name.
Wit
Adding Republicans to key positions in his administration, Franklin Roosevelt created a unified effort to fight World War II.
Was he the era’s greatest Democrat or its elected autocrat? A hero or a scoundrel? Balancing Andrew Jackson’s legacy is a problematic exercise, complicated by his many contradictions.
Thomas Sully'
Our leading politicians have spewed vitriol at each other since the nation’s founding.
From Henry Clay to Barry Goldwater and Shirley Chisholm, our failed presidential contenders can still inspire us with their legacies.
In his latest memoir, Carl Bernstein retraces the path of his early journalism career before he went on to make history at the Washington Post.
Editor's Note: Eugene L.
FDR's Secretary of Labor — the first female Cabinet member — also helped create the minimum wage, the 40-hour work week, and the first tough child labor laws.
Editor's Note: Bruce Watson is a writer, historian, and contributing editor at American Heritage. You can read more of his work on his blog, The Attic.
The fifth president's policies helped create an “Era of Good Feelings,” a prosperous time never seen before or since in American history.
Editor's Note: Harlow Giles Unger is the author of 28 books, including more than a dozen biographies of America’s Founding Fathers.
Though he defended his decision as being in the nation's best interest, Ford's pardon of his predecessor may have contributed to his short-lived presidency.
Gerald R. Ford, Jr., Republican Congressman from Michigan and House Minority Leader, became vice president to Richard M. Nixon under the provisions of the Twenty-Fifth Amendment when, in 1973, Spiro T. Agnew resigned the vice presidency after pleading guilty to tax evasion.
Partisan politics, plus the media’s focus on Clinton’s personal life, created a presidency under siege and consumed by scandals—some serious, others trivial.