Government Leaders
Inventive Abe
In 1849, a future president patented an ingenious addition to transportation technology.
October 2006 |
By Owen Edwards
Ben Franklin Slept Here
The ingenious founding father's only surviving residence, in London, is reborn as a museum
March 2006 |
By Simon Worrall
"My Whole Soul Is In It"
As his army faltered and his cabinet bickered, Abraham Lincoln determined that "we must free the slaves or be ourselves subdued." In 1862, he finally got his chance
January 2006 |
By Doris Kearns Goodwin
People's Choice
Almost from birth, Andrew Jackson was in training to become democracy's champion
October 2005 |
By H. W. Brands
Ties That Bind
At last, all parties were ready to make peace in the Middle East. Whoops ... Not So Fast
September 2005 |
By John F. Harris
When Franklin Roosevelt Clashed with the Supreme Court – and Lost
Buoyed by his reelection but dismayed by rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court, a president overreaches
May 2005 |
By William E. Leuchtenburg
Contemplating Churchill
On the 40th anniversary of the wartime leader's death, historians are reassessing the complex figure who carried Britain through its darkest hour
March 2005 |
By Edward Rothstein
Washington Takes Charge
Confronting the British in Boston in 1775, Gen. George Washington honed the personal qualities that would carry the day in war and sustain the new nation in peace
January 2005 |
By Joseph J. Ellis
Thomas Jefferson, Aaron Burr and the Election of 1800
For seven days, as the two presidential candidates maneuvered and schemed, the fate of the young republic hung in the ballots
November 01, 2004 |
By John Ferling
Digging for Jefferson's Lost Courthouse
Archaeologists in Virginia found the footprint of a red brick building lost in the mid-19th century
October 2004 |
By Clay Risen
Digging into a Historic Rivalry
As archaeologists unearth a secret slave passageway used by abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens, scholars reevaluate his reputation and that of his neighbors and nemesis, James Buchanan
February 2004 |
By Fergus M. Bordewich
Meriwether Lewis Gets His Marching Orders
Jefferson spells out the mission
December 2003 |
By Smithsonian magazine
The President's Been Shot
Forty years ago, the assassination of JFK stunned Americans, who vividly recall the day even as they grapple with his complex legacy
November 01, 2003 |
By Dana Calvo
Tony Blair Goes to War
In a new book, a British journalist documents the day-by-day march into conflict in Iraq
October 2003 |
By Peter Stothard
Benjamin Franklin Joins the Revolution
Returning to Philadelphia from England in 1775, the "wisest American" kept his political leanings to himself. But not for long
August 01, 2003 |
By Walter Isaacson
Reign On!
Four centuries after her death, Good Queen Bess still draws crowds. A regal rash of exhibitions and books examines her life anew.
June 2003 |
By Doug Stewart
Winter of Discontent
Even as he endured the hardships of Valley Forge, George Washington faced another challenge: critics who questioned his fitness to lead
May 2003 |
By Norman Gelb
Where the Wild Things Are
President Theodore Roosevelt started what would become the world's most successful experiment in conservation
March 2003 |
By Smithsonian magazine
The Calm Before Desert Storm
Two months before the Gulf War began in 1991, President George H. W. Bush greeted U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia
February 2003 |
By Christopher Buckley
Founding Fathers and Slaveholders
To what degree do the attitudes of Washington and Jefferson toward slavery diminish their achievements?
November 2002 |
By Stephen E. Ambrose
