Featured Articles

SIXTY YEARS AGO THIS MONTH the Soviet Union orbited a “man-made moon” whose derisive chirp persuaded Americans they’d already lost a race that had barely begun More >>

Beer And America

by Max Rudin

It came over with the Mayflower and stayed on to be the unchallenged drink of democracy. More >>

Did Castro OK The Kennedy Assassination?

by Gus Russo

Incriminating new evidence has come to light in KGB files and the authors' interviews of former Cuban intelligence officers that indicates Fidel Castro probably knew in advance of Oswald's intent to kill JFK. More >>

Madison’s Radical Agenda

by Joseph J. Ellis

A diminutive, persuasive Virginian hijacked the Constitutional Convention and forced the moderates to accept a national government with vastly expanded powers More >>

Placards At The White House

by Jean H. Baker

In 1917, fed up with the inaction of conservative suffragists, Alice Paul decided on the unorthodox strategy of pressuring the president directly More >>

The Naked Truth Of Battle

by James MacGregor Burns

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 More >>

Frémont Steals California

by Sally Denton

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 More >>

Adams Appoints Marshall

by Gordon S. Wood

Critical decisions by the Chief Justice saved the Supreme Court’s independence—and made possible its wide-ranging role today More >>

A Graceful Exit

by Jay Winik

In one momentous decision, Robert E. Lee spared the United States years of divisive violence More >>

The Day When We Almost Lost the Army

by Joseph E. Persico

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. More >>