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Featured Essays
Some writers ignore a mountain of evidence that is contrary to their theories about the telephone's development.
Our Founders profoundly transformed the way people participate in government.
Congress forbade living persons from appearing on paper currency in 1866, after an unpopular Treasury Department official put himself on the five-cent note.
The extravaganza celebrating the nation’s first century was the greatest cultural event of America’s Gilded Age.
America 250!
American Rebels at Sea | Summer 2022, Vol 67, No 3
By Eric Jay DolinAn estimated 1500 privateering ships played a crucial role in winning the American Revolution, but their contributions are often forgotten.
With Little Less Than Savage Fury | Fall 2010, Vol 60, No 3
By Thomas B. AllenAmerica’s first civil war took place during the Revolution, an ultra-violent, family-splitting, and often vindictive conflict between "patriots" and loyalists.
The Turning Point in the Revolutionary War | October 1997, Vol 48, No 6
By Richard M. Ketchum
Patriots or Terrorists? | Fall 2008, Vol 58, No 5
By Edwin G. BurrowsThe Lost Story of Revolutionary War POW’s
For America’s 250th Birthday, Let’s Think Local | Summer 2023, Vol 68, No 4
By Hans ZeigerCommunities around the U.S. hope that the nation's upcoming 250th anniversary will inspire Americans to appreciate the importance of shared experience and preserving history.
Classic Essays from the Archives
The Hawthornes In Paradise | December 1958, Summer 2025, Vol 70, No 3
By Malcolm CowleyNathaniel was poor and sunk in his solitude; Sophia seemed a hopeless invalid, but a late-flower love gave them at last “a perfect Eden.”
On History | February 1964, Vol 15, No 2
By John F. Kennedy"Americans are united by their history and by a faith in progress, justice, and freedom," writes President Kennedy
The Treasure From The Carpentry Shop | December 1979, Vol 31, No 1
By David McCulloughTHE EXTRAORDINARY ORIGINAL DRAWINGS OF THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE
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