Francis Russell

Francis Russell, a frequent contributor, is the author of Adams: An American Dynasty , a book recently published by American Heritage.

Articles by this Author

Why I Changed My Mind About The Sacco-Vanzetti Case, June/July 1986 | Vol. 37, No. 4

The Knave Of Boston, August 1976 | Vol. 27, No. 5

IN ALL THE PACK, DAN COAKLEY DESERVED TO BE CALLED

“...As Warm A Heart As Ever Beat”, August 1975 | Vol. 26, No. 5

Gene Debs was America’s leading socialist, but just about everyone agreed he had

The Summer White House In The Clouds, October 1973 | Vol. 24, No. 6

Bubble, Bubble No— Toil, No Trouble, February 1973 | Vol. 24, No. 2

The brisk little Italian immigrant promised you 100 per cent interest in ninety days. Some people actually got it

Honey Fitz, August 1968 | Vol. 19, No. 5

John F. Fitzgerald put his seal on his city, his times, and a political tribe that still increases. To foes he was “Fitxblarney” but friends called him

Butler The Beast?, April 1968 | Vol. 19, No. 3

For nearly fifty years, in one way or another, Ben Butler courted the favor of his state and the nation. He way not have been a bona fide Beauty, but there were times when his traditional nickname did not seem quite fair either

… And Some Were Saved, February 1965 | Vol. 16, No. 2

When Gentlemen Prepared For War, April 1964 | Vol. 15, No. 3

In the summer of 1915, 1,300 blue bloods played soldier for thirty days at Plattsburg. A bully time was had by all—even though it was a far cry from the real thing

The Strike That Made A President, October 1963 | Vol. 14, No. 6

When Boston’s police walked out, a great city erupted in violence. By doggedly doing nothing, Governor Coolidge emerged as a national hero

The Four Mysteries of Warren Harding, April 1963 | Vol. 14, No. 3

In the life and death of a scandal-haunted President, some dark regions still remain

The Pilgrims and The Rock, October 1962 | Vol. 13, No. 6

Did the Fathers in 1620 really land on that famous slab of granite? Through the haze of myth that surround it, a profound truth may be dimly seen

Sacco Guilty, Vanzetti Innocent?, June 1962 | Vol. 13, No. 4

Four years ago Mr. Russell claimed in our pages that the central figures in the famous trial at Dedham had been unjustly executed. Now he has restudied the long record, held new ballistic tests, and reached a dramatic new conclusion. Should not the verdict be, he asks:

“oh Amherst, Brave Amherst…, December 1960 | Vol. 12, No. 1

Lord Jeffery’s name is “known to fame,” but it was the five years he spent in America that rescued him from obscurity

The Last Of The Bosses, June 1959 | Vol. 10, No. 4

Part hero, part rogue, Boston’s Jim Curley triumphed over the Brahmins in his heyday, but became in the end a figure of pity.

Father To The Six Nations, April 1959 | Vol. 10, No. 3

Only Sir William Johnson, living among them in feudal splendor, won and kept the confidence of the Iroquois.

Tragedy In Dedham, October 1958 | Vol. 9, No. 6

A restrospect of the Sacco-Vanzetti trial

Lost Elegance, June 1957 | Vol. 8, No. 4

Home to royal and republican governors, host to a century of great men, stately Shirley Place in Roxbury, Massachusetts, is falling into ruin

Apostle To The Indians, December 1957 | Vol. 9, No. 1

John Eliot preached to the Massachusetts savages, printed the Bible in their “barbarous Linguo,” and tried to reply to their disquieting questions

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