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American Civilians Defend Against U-Boats | Spring 2020, Vol 65, No 2
In 1942, over a quarter of a million ordinary citizens volunteered to help defend our country as Nazi submarines terrorized the East Coast and Caribbean waters, sinking fuel tankers and cargo ships with near impunity.
Agony of the Lost Battalion | Fall 2018 - World War I Special Issue, Vol 63, No 3
In October 1918, 600 men of the 77th Division attacked a heavily defended German position, charging forward until they were completely surrounded by enemy forces. Only 194 of these men survived.
The Meaning of 1918 | Fall 2018 - World War I Special Issue, Vol 63, No 3
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.
How One Man Launched a Revolution | Spring 2018 , Vol 63, No 1
Thomas Paine's Common Sense helped Americans "decide upon the propriety of separation,” as George Washington said.
Billy the Kid: From Outlaw to Legend | Spring 2018 , Vol 63, No 1
Interest in the outlaw has grown recently with the discovery of the first authenticated photographs of Henry McCarty, who died in 1881 at the age of 21 after a short, notorious life of gambling and gunfights.
McKinley Reconsidered | Spring 2018 , Vol 63, No 1
Although his flamboyant successor, Theodore Roosevelt, greatly overshadowed him, William McKinney deserves credit for establishing the United States as a global power, acquiring Hawaii and Puerto Rico, establishing the “fair trade” doctrine, and paving the way for TR’s accomplishments.
The Strangest Army-Navy Game Ever Played? | Spring 2018 , Vol 63, No 1
Because of wartime gas-rationing, Congress and the administration debated cancelling the famous gridiron match-up between Army and Navy in 1942. President Roosevelt found a novel solution.
Laura Ingalls Wilder, Pioneer Girl | November 2020, Vol 65, No 7
A historian looks at the distinctive Midwestern identity of Wilder and her "Little House on the Prairie" books.
The Day When We Almost Lost the Army | Spring 2012, Vol 62, No 1
Debate over America's involvement in World War II came to a head in July 1941 as the Senate argued over a draft-extension bill. The decision would have profound consequences for the nation.
A Graceful Exit | Winter 2010, Vol 59, No 4
In one momentous decision, Robert E. Lee spared the United States years of divisive violence.
Adams Appoints Marshall | Winter 2010, Vol 59, No 4
Critical decisions by the chief justice saved the Supreme Court’s independence — and made possible its wide-ranging role today.
Frémont Steals California | Winter 2011, Vol 60, No 4
A junior Army officer, acting on secret orders from the president, bluffed a far stronger Mexican force into conceding North America's westernmost province to the United States.
The Naked Truth Of Battle | Winter 2011, Vol 60, No 4
A preeminent author recalls his experience as one of America's first combat historians, among a handful of men who accompanied soldiers into the bloodiest battles to write history as it was being made.
Placards at the White House | Winter 2010, Vol 59, No 4
In 1917, fed up with the inaction of conservative suffragists, Alice Paul decided on the unorthodox strategy of pressuring the president directly.
Madison’s Radical Agenda | Winter 2010, Vol 59, No 4
A diminutive, persuasive Virginian hijacked the Constitutional Convention and forced the moderates to accept a national government with vastly expanded powers.
Did Castro Okay the Kennedy Assassination? | Winter 2009, Vol 58, No 6
Incriminating new evidence has come to light in KGB files and the authors' interviews of former Cuban intelligence officers which indicates that Fidel Castro probably knew in advance of Oswald's intent to kill JFK.
Did Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson Love Each Other? | Fall 2008, Vol 58, No 5
To call it loaded question does not begin to do justice to the matter, given America’s tortured racial history and its haunting legacy.
15 Classic Books About Black History | July/August 2020, Vol 65, No 4
From The Souls of Black Folk to The New Jim Crow, these texts are essential for anyone trying to understand the black experience in America.
It came over with the Mayflower and stayed on to be the unchallenged drink of democracy.
Ike Shrugged Off Sputnik | October 1997, Vol 48, No 6
Sixty years ago this month, the Soviet Union orbited a “man-made moon” whose derisive chirp persuaded Americans that they’d already lost a race that had barely begun.