AMERICAN HERITAGE

Featured Articles

Limits on Presidential Power from FDR to Trump

by Todd Belt

What does history tell us about presidents who have tried to push the limits of the system?

The Comic Revolution

by Bruce Watson

Before Saturday Night Live, there was "Your Show of Shows."

Oklahoma City and the Cost of Violence

by Calvin Warner

Thirty years later, an Oklahoma native reflects on one of the deadliest domestic terrorist attacks in American history.

Eisenhower’s “Middle Way”

by Steven Wagner

As president, Dwight D. Eisenhower took a moderate position on many issues, believing that “good judgment seeks balance and progress.”

Solving Our Political Disarray

by Yuval Levin

The Constitution is more than a legal code. It is also a framework for union and solidarity.

Classic Essays from Our Archives

“Perdicaris Alive or Raisuli Dead” | August 1959, Vol 70, No 2

By Barbara W. Tuchman

John Hay’s ringing phrase helped nominate T. R., but it covered an embarrassing secret that remained concealed for thirty years.

Two Intimate Enemies | September 2000, Vol 70, No 2

By Joseph J. Ellis

When John Adams was elected president, and Thomas Jefferson as vice president, each came to see the other as a traitor. Out of their enmity grew our modern political system.

Range Practice | Februrary 1968, Vol 70, No 2

By Dean Acheson

Our former Secretary of State recalls his service fifty years ago in the Connecticut National Guard—asthmatic horses, a ubiquitous major, and a memorable

A Few Parchment Pages Two Hundred Years Later | May/June 1987, 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.

Range Practice | Februrary 1968, Vol 19, No 2

By Dean Acheson

Our former Secretary of State recalls his service fifty years ago in the Connecticut National Guard—asthmatic horses, a ubiquitous major, and a memorable

America: Experiment or Destiny? | June 1977, Vol 28, No 4

By Arthur Schlesinger Jr.

Today in History

"Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" speech

While arguing for indepedence from Great Britain, Patrick Henry declares "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" before the second Virginia Convention. Henry's proclamation inspired the Virginia delegates to support the patriot cause, and the fifth Virginia Convention would vote for independence the following year.
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U of California established

Governor Henry H. Haight signs the Organic Act, officially establishing the University of California system. With over 200,000 students on ten campuses, the University of California is one of the largest public systems in the United States.
Reagan announces SDI

President Ronald Reagan announces the formation of the Strategic Defense Initiative in a speech to the American public. Nicknamed "Star Wars" by critics, the program sought to develop a surface and space-based missile system to protect the United States from nuclear attacks.
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