We visited Philadelphia recently, specifically Old Town, that part of the city where the Founding Fathers created the Declaration of...

Book Review: Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy, by Nathaniel Philbrick. I've read countless books about George...

The last thing I needed was to read another Lincoln biography. But a Lincoln biography given to me by my brother Charles, continued to...

Three Movies by Steven Spielberg That Define the American Ideal AMISTAD (1997) – An Independent Judiciary LINCOLN (2012) – Democracy THE...

February 22 is George Washington’s birthday. Below is my review of “Cincinnatus: George Washington and the Enlightenment,” by Pulitzer...

It was the time of the huddled masses, of immigrants, slums and overcrowded cities, of long hours and deplorable working conditions in...

I’m speaking with Ruth. We’re at a birthday celebration of a mutual friend. She tells me she didn't start college until she was...

December 12th is John Jay’s birthday. As one of the seven most influential founders of our country, Jay’s contributions are not as well...

It’s a memorable scene from a memorable movie. Actor Spencer Tracy—portraying a wealthy industrialist running for president—is looking...

October 30 is the birthday of John Adams, our second president. John Adams was one of America’s greatest statesmen--and one of its worst...

The influential jurist with the unlikely but appropriate name of Learned Hand served as the presiding judge of the Second Circuit Court...

After buying tickets and waiting almost a year, we finally got to see “Hamilton,” the smash Broadway musical. It was midweek, and the...

The two-party system was not written into the plan. Indeed, the framers of the United States Constitution worked hard to create a...

Two reviews: THE MONEY GAME, by Adam Smith Putting your money in the stock market: is it a gamble, or is it an investment? Does the...

Mastering Self: Three Reviews I CAN IF I WANT TO, by Arnold Lazarus and Allen Fay “We are not disturbed by things—external events—but by...

It was like a religious conversion—a profound altering of thought, a decided charge of heart, and a rechartering of course. For Supreme...

“There’s America, there’s the South, then there’s Mississippi.” So said President Lyndon Johnson. He might have added, “And then there’s...

They're the Bearded Presidents—or, if you will, the Great Emancipator and the Seven Dwarfs. No president before or after these...

Note: what follows was given to me as a letter some time around 1990: "In this time of commencement addresses, I recall one in...

It’s the most famous dinner in U.S. history. It was hosted by Thomas Jefferson at his well-appointed townhouse on Maiden Lane, a stone’s...