Skip to main content

Featured Essays

Some writers ignore a mountain of evidence contrary to their theories about the telephone's development.

New evidence finally settles the 150-year-old debate as to whether Alexander Graham Bell or Elisha Gray first invented the telephone.

Museums and historic sites across the Southeast help us better understand Andrew Jackson, who helped define American democracy but also championed the brutal treatment of indigenous peoples.

Some observers see ambiguity in the 22nd Amendment.

America 250!

An Update on “Save the Glover!” | Spring 2026, Vol 71, No 2

By Nancy L. Schultz

Efforts continue to preserve the historic home of General John Glover in Swampscott, Massachusetts, which is still slated for demolition.

glover house

Leadership of the Founders | Winter 2026, Vol 71, No 1

By Joseph J. Ellis

Our nation came into being thanks to an unexpected explosion of political talent in an emerging nation on the fringe of the Atlantic world.

founding fathers

“The Die is Now Cast” | November/December 2024, Vol 69, No 5

By Joseph J. Ellis

American resistance to British authority developed with stunning speed 250 years ago in response to George III’s inflexibility. 

john lamb

Drama on Dorchester Heights: Washington’s First Victory | Winter 2026, Vol 71, No 1

By Edward J. Larson

The American patriots came up with a bold plan to force the British out of Boston 250 years ago this month.

dorchester heights

Patriots or Terrorists? | Fall 2008, Vol 58, No 5

By Edwin G. Burrows

The Lost Story of Revolutionary War POW’s

American Heritage Logo

Classic Essays from the Archives

A Few Parchment Pages Two Hundred Years Later | May/June 1987, Summer 2025, Vol 38, No 4

By Richard B. Morris

The framers of the Constitution were proud of what they had done but might be astonished that their words still carry so much weight. A distinguished scholar tells us how the great charter has survived and flourished.

framers

Lincoln As Commander in Chief | Winter 2009, Summer 2025, Vol 58, No 6

By James M. McPherson

Even though he had no military training, Lincoln quickly rose to become one of America’s most talented commanders.

lincoln as commander in chief

The Meaning of 1918 | Fall 2018 - World War I Special Issue, Vol 63, No 3

By John Lukacs

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.

American Heritage Logo

SUPPORT AMERICAN HERITAGE BY BUYING A NEW EBOOK!