COVER
What Do We Owe the Indians?
21st-century battles over America’s dwindling resources loom as a new generation of savvy warriors insists we honor the solemn promises made in 371 active treaties, some of which predate the Constitution
— by Paul VanDevelder

FEATURES
George Washington Pays Homage to Yahweh
During a visit to the nation’s oldest synagogue in 1790, our first president set forth a promise for all Americans
—by Simon Schama

Rebuilding America
What is the cost of fixing infrastructure that has been the key to growth since the founding of the republic?
—datagraphic by Nigel Holmes

America’s Colossal Unification Project
Historic photographs evoke the drama of the headlong rush to complete the Transcontinental Railroad in May 1869
— by Sarah Richardson

LINCOLN CHRONICLES/3
Hesitant Emancipator
Why did Abraham Lincoln’s decision to free the slaves cause him such personal anguish—and take him so long?
—by H.W. Brands

Paradise Found
Scientists reveal the wonders Henry Hudson would have seen when he discovered Manhattan 400 years ago
—by Verlyn Klinkenborg

DEPARTMENTS
Letters

Publick Occurrences
Assassination plans of Junius Brutus Booth, John Wilkes’father, revealed; George Washington’s generals reunite; Ulysses S. Grant returns to Mississippi and more

Dialogue
Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Steven Hahn argues that the Civil War was really a massive slave rebellion
—Interview by Gene Santoro

Deconstructed
The Statue of Freedom, Washington, D.C.

Uncommon Virtue
Japanese internee Minoru Yasui fights for civil rights
—by Christine M. Kreiser

Must Reading for the President
5 key texts for understanding taxation
—by Donald Critchlow

Rendezvous
Henry David Thoreau meets Walt Whitman
—by Peter Carlson

Letter From American History

Reviews
Up From Slavery, Alcatraz, We Shall Remain, the Smithsonian’s new American History Museum and more

Challenge
Test your knowledge of America in 1909

Save This Old Barn
A piece of Iowa history can be yours for a song