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
Dream Assignment
Photographer Bob Adelman's picture of Martin Luther King, Jr., taken 40 years ago, captures one of the greatest speeches in American history
August 2003 |
By Lucinda Moore
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
Hamilton Takes Command
In 1775, the 20-year-old Alexander Hamilton took up arms to fight the British. Soon the brash young soldier would display the courage and savvy that would take him to the apex of power in the new U.S. government
January 2003 |
By Willard Sterne Randall
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
Against All Odds
A new play and photo exhibition call attention to Ida B. Wells and her brave fight to end lynching in America
July 01, 2002 |
By Clarissa Myrick-Harris
Absence of Malice
In a new book, Historian Ronald C. White, Jr., explains why Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, given just weeks before he died, was his greatest speech
April 2002 |
By Ronald C. White, Jr.
