Skip to main content

Classic Essays from Our Archives

The future President, who was an aide to Wilson, describes how the Allies bickered at the peace talks after World War I.

The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson, by Herbert Hoover

Ike's son, who served under Patton, shares his memories of "Ol' Blood and Guts"

American Heritage: History around the web

The noted writer and educator recalls his boyhood in the West Virginia town of Piedmont.

American Heritage: History around the web

The first of a three-part series on the Gen. "Vinegar Joe" Stillwell in China, by the Pulitzer Prize winning historian

American Heritage: History around the web

Of all the Allied leaders, argues FDR's biographer, only Roosevelt saw clearly the shape of the new world order.

American Heritage: History around the web

The former Secretary of State recalls his time as a "driver" in the Army before World War I.

American Heritage: History around the web

Douglas Brinkley recalls his friend and colleague McCullough, ‘the dean of our nation’s historians’

David McCullough

Some of the first humans in North America butchered mammoth bones 37,000 years ago in what is now New Mexico.

mammoth

In 1790, George Washington fell severely ill, threatening his life and the young nation he led.

George Washington

Even after that milestone, millions of people — women and men alike — were still excluded from the vote, as many barriers to suffrage remained.

Even after that milestone, millions of people

We can’t assume that all will be fine in the end, but history shows us that times of unrest are opportunities, too.

American Heritage: History around the web

As the influenza pandemic swept across the United States in 1918 and 1919, masks took a role in political and cultural wars.

American Heritage: History around the web

Texting exchange by two professors led to Frederick Douglass letter on Emancipation Memorial

American Heritage: History around the web

While the play's creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, has delivered Hamilton his long-overdue public acclaim, many other historical figures are overlooked or represented in a less-than-flattering manner throughout the production.

American Heritage: History around the web

They swept the issue under the rug, and even Thomas Jefferson realized that civil war was inevitable before he died on July 4, 1826. But history could have taken a different direction.

American Heritage: History around the web

Benjamin Rush was a strange, or a strangely gifted, man, and one of the youngest—at 30—to sign the Declaration of Independence.

American Heritage: History around the web

Black Americans began to celebrate Juneteenth in honor of when Texas - the last rebel state - officially abolished slavery.

American Heritage: History around the web

The soul-searching about race prompted by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis has extended into how the history of racial persecution and prejudice is remembered.

American Heritage: History around the web

How government commissions became alibis for inaction.

American Heritage: History around the web

Condemnation of black violent resistance, and of black radicalism, is not a new phenomenon.

American Heritage: History around the web

Enjoy our work? Help us keep going.

Now in its 75th year, American Heritage relies on contributions from readers like you to survive. You can support this magazine of trusted historical writing and the volunteers that sustain it by donating today.

Donate