Table of Contents – April 2012 American History

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FEATURES

Titanic Repercussions
Understanding the scope and shock value of the Titanic in terms of 9/11
by Verlyn Klinkenborg

Power Play
We the people have Gouverneur Morris to thank (or curse) for today’s imperial presidency
by Ray Raphael

Time Travel
The gumption and grace of vintage steam locomotives are alive and thriving
by Claudia Glenn Dowling

Ivory
Who knew the price being paid in slavery and elephant populations to enhance the piano craze of the 1800s?
by Richard Conniff

Run, River, Run
A gripping eyewitness account from 1869 evokes the glorious but deadly power of the Colorado River
by John Wesley Powell

Phil Collins and the Alamo
A pop legend finds inspiration in artifacts from the legendary last stand
by Stephen Harrigan

DEPARTMENTS
Letters

Gazette
Lincoln’s first war rediscovered; Lewis and Clark subpoenaed; Satchmo’s hanky repatriated; Texas town’s bones bared

The Big Picture
America goes suburban—still!

We’ve Been Here Before
The 99 percent and William Jennings Bryan’s Cross of Gold

The First
Washington, D.C., cherry trees

Encounter
Truman, Churchill and Stalin at Potsdam

Details
Oval Office desk

Interview
John M. Barry on how Rhode Island founder Roger Williams brought true freedom to the United States

Reviews
A black history opus by Henry L. Gates; revisionist take on Reagan and Thatcher; urban Pittsburgh in black and white

From America’s Attic
Spoils of peace, stolen at Appomattox