AMERICAN HERITAGE

Featured Articles

The world’s most prominent actress risked her career by standing up to one of Hollywood’s mega-studios, proving that behind the beauty was also a very savvy businesswoman.

How the Cherry Blossoms Came to Washington

by Edwin S. Grosvenor

Rarely has the full story been told about how a famed botanist, a pioneering female journalist, and First Lady Helen Taft battled reluctant bureaucrats to bring Japanese cherry trees to Washington.

Reconsidering Jimmy Carter

by Kai Bird

Often thought to have been a weak president, Carter was strong-willed in doing what he thought was right, regardless of expediency or the political fallout.

Bank Failures: As American as Apple Pie

by John Steele Gordon

Why have thousands of U.S. banks failed over the years? The answers are in our history and politics.

Classic Essays from Our Archives

The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson, by Herbert Hoover

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

Remembering Gen. Patton, by John Eisenhower

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

American Heritage: History around the web

Growing Up Colored, by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

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

A Yankee Among the War Lords, by Barbara Tuchman

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

The Man of the Century, by Arthur Schlesinger Jr.

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

My Time in the Horse-Drawn Artillery, by Dean Acheson

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

Today in History

Cornwallis surrenders

British General Charles Cornwallis surrenders to General George Washington at Yorktown, concluding the major fighting of the Revolutionary War.
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1973 Oil Crisis begins

In response to American support for Israel during the Yom Kippur War, members of OPEC begin an oil embargo against the United States. The resulting oil crisis would spark a global economic downturn before American diplomats intervened to negotiate an end to the embargo.
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British surrender at Saratoga

Surrounded by an American army at Saratoga, British General John Burgoyne surrenders, ending the British threat in upstate New York. This decisive American triumph would compel the French to ally with the American patriots.
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