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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.

Enormous crowds greeted the Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero of the American Revolution, during his visit to all 24 states nearly 40 years after the war ended.

In a momentous couple of years, the young United States added more than a million square miles of territory, including Texas and California. 

We can’t let the home of one of the great heroes of the American Revolution be demolished.

Classic Essays from Our Archives

Did Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson Love Each Other? | Fall 2008, Vol 58, No 5

By Annette Gordon-Reed

To call it loaded question does not begin to do justice to the matter, given America’s tortured racial history and its haunting legacy.

hemings jefferson

Herbert Hoover Describes the Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson | June 1958, Vol 9, No 4

By Herbert Hoover

The great tragedy of the twenty-eighth President as witnessed by his loyal lieutenant, the thirty-first.

woodrow wilson

“The Tide is Setting Strongly Against Us” | Winter 2010, Vol 59, No 4

By Edward L. Ayers

Lincoln’s bid for reelection in 1864 faced serious challenges from a popular opponent and a nation weary of war.

American Heritage Logo

Alice Paul: “I Was Arrested, Of Course…” | February 1974, Vol 25, No 2

By Robert S. Gallagher

An interview with the famed suffragette, Alice Paul

alice paul

1619: The Year That Shaped America  | Winter 2019, Vol 64, No 1

By James Horn

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.

jamestown

Ike's Son Remembers George S. Patton Jr. | Summer 2012, Vol 62, No 2

By John D. Eisenhower

The author, who once served under General Patton and whose father, Dwight D. Eisenhower, was Patton's commanding officer, shares his memories of "Ol' Blood and Guts."

Gen. George Patton

    Today in History

  • Treaty of Portsmouth

    The Russo-Japanese War ends as the two nations sign the Treaty of Portsmouth at the Portsmouth Naval Yard. President Theodore Roosevelt sought to expand American influence in international politics, and he was later awarded the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomatic efforts.

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  • First Continental Congress meeting

    In response to the Intolerable Acts imposed by the British Parliament, the First Continental Congress is convened for the first time at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia. 

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  • Battle of the Chesapeake

    The French Navy wins a decisive victory over the British Navy at the Battle of the Chesapeake, fought just off the Virginia Capes. The French fleet prevented the British from reinforcing Yorktown, compelling British General Charles Cornwallis to surrender six weeks later.

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