Remember When America Tried to Conquer Canada?

It's Too Bad We've Forgotten Pretty Much Everything About the War of 1812

This Christmas Eve marks an American bicentennial—the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. It’s hardly surprising that this event has been eclipsed by the centennial of World War I, the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, and even the normal hubbub of another holiday season. As the historian Alan Taylor has written, “The War of 1812 looms small in American memory.”

Does this war merit greater remembrance? The War of 1812 was ostensibly about securing American independence against the persistent threats of …

by Matthew Dennis | December 24, 2014

Your Holiday Angst Is America’s Oldest Tradition

The Puritans May Have Feasted on Thanksgiving, But Most British Colonists Didn’t Feel That Grateful

by Joanna Brooks | November 26, 2014

Do you have complicated feelings about Thanksgiving? Maybe your ancestors were among this continent’s indigenous peoples, and you have good reason to be rankled by thoughts of newly arrived English …

From a London Alley to the White House

Louisa Catherine Adams, the Only First Lady Born Outside the U.S., Had to Prove Herself to Her Husband’s Family, Congress—and the Country

by Louisa Thomas | October 31, 2014

It was hard for Louisa Catherine Adams, the only first lady born outside the United States, to say where she came from. She began her life in a narrow alley …

I Covered San Francisco’s Bloody November of ’78

After the Murder of My Colleague and the Mayor’s Assassination, I Kept Writing

by James A. Finefrock | September 11, 2014

I awoke before dawn on November 19, 1978, nearly 900 miles away from the city desk of the San Francisco Examiner, where I worked. As I stepped from the shower, …

How Hollywood Saved Wyatt Earp

On-Screen, He Was a Wild West Lawman. In Real Life, Earp Was a Horse Thief with a Gambling Problem.

by Andrew Isenberg | September 9, 2014

In May 1883, after an absence of four years, Wyatt Earp returned to Dodge City, Kansas. He had spent most of the intervening years in Tombstone, Arizona, where he had …

Is Memorial Day About Grief, Glory, or Hot Dogs?

To Understand America’s Most Confusing Holiday, You’ve Got to Ponder Why We Get the Day Off in the First Place

by Gregory Rodriguez | May 25, 2014

Memorial Day is one of America’s most confusing holidays. Depending on the celebrant, it can be a day of grief, glory—or backyard barbecues.

It’s not a bad thing to have such …

U.S. history