August 2020

Editor’s Note: People can accomplish amazing things when roused to action by strong leadership. Paul Dickson, a frequent contributor to American Heritage, gives ample evidence of that in his fascinating new book, The Rise of the G.I. Army, 1940-1941: The Forgotten Story of How America Forged a Powerful Army Before Pearl Harbor (Atlantic Monthly Press) in which portions of this essay appeared. 

On Friday, September 1, 1939 at 2:50 a.m., President Franklin D. Roosevelt was awakened by a telephone call from the U.S. ambassador to France, William Bullitt, who reported that Nazi Germany had just invaded Poland and was bombing her cities. 

“Well, Bill,” the president said. “It has come at last. God help us All.”

Over the past 50 years, archaeological digs at the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on Roanoke Island have failed to turn up evidence of the palisades of the English fort of 1585 or the building of the lost colonists’ settlement of 1587. This led some experts to conclude that coastal erosion had washed the remains away long ago. New discoveries in 2008 and 2009, however, suggest that significant vestiges of the fort and settlement may indeed survive.

See "Roanoke’s Lost Colony Found?" in this issue

On a fine summer day during a horse-drawn century, thousands gathered by a lake far from anywhere. The gathering included farmers, blacksmiths, schoolteachers, millers, and more. Some stayed a week, living in tents. Others hunkered down for a month, holed up in cabins. They named the gathering after the lake — Chautauqua.

Chautauqua is an Iroquois word whose meaning — moccasins tied together — describes the shape of the lake. But back when the world came to rural America solely through word of mouth, when “media” meant vaudeville, when schools met in single rooms, Chautauqua had a different meaning. It meant being interested in everything.

I recently read Sylvia Lovegren's piece about the history of barbecue, published in the July/August issue of American Heritage, and learned quite a bit. The subject is complicated, I have found, because the history is all over the place and the tastes and styles so varied not by country, but by region.

Ms. Lovegren did a good job sweeping through those. I've heard that word barbacoa quite often the past year or so, and didn't know the roots. I like that the writer immediately defined what barbecue stands for, and grilling ain't barbecue. I bitch about that all the time, the phrase, “We're having a barbecue.” Really, you have a pit? “No, we're grilling some burgers and hot dogs.”

Editor's Note: This month marked the 75th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. To commemorate the occasion, we shared two articles from the American Heritage archives that shed greater light on details surrounding the events.

The stories received an outpouring of reactions on social media, including over 1000 comments on our Facebook page, so we thought we'd share some of the most insightful remarks with the rest of our audience. Read on for a selection of those responses. (And don't forget to sign up to follow our Facebook page, as we are constantly publishing new material there.)

The bombs prevented more horrendous casualties.

The late-summer sun beamed down on the parade route in New York City, forcing most people to shed layers of clothing in order to stay cool and comfortable as they marched down the street. But being an honorable member of an ancient fraternal organization meant discipline and dedication, a fact embodied by the ornate, if weather-inappropriate, ceremonial regalia worn by one group of participants that sweltering afternoon.