Letters from an American
Heather Cox Richardson
300 episodes
Heather Cox Richardson's narrated newsletter about the history behind today's politics. heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
Episodes page 2 of 6
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Self-inflicted Problems
September 9, 2026 At a White House event marking the anniversary of 9/11, Trump told a story about being at the site of the World Trade Center that day, but fact checkers and Trump’s nephew dispute his account,…
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Hell-bent
September 8, 2026 Germany’s far right AfD party won 43.8% of the vote in the small state of Saxony0Anhalt, formerly part of the Soviet dominated East Germany, Right wing leaders across Europe celebrated the outcome,…
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Trump’s Frantic Pace
September 7, 2026 Trump has been posting on social media at a frantic pace, He is posting AI images of himself as a superhero, as various historic figures, as a mapmaker, and a stock trader. He apparently believes…
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In a Nutshell
September 5, 2026 The Trump administration had a busy Friday, US District Judge Talwani blocked Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional plan to use the US Postal Service to screen mail-in voters, A day after Interior…
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Labor Day
September 4, 2026 On September 5, 1882, workers in New York City celebrated the first Labor Day holiday, Their goal was to emphasize the importance of workers in the industrializing economy, Twenty years after the…
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What Will the Midterms Bring?
September 3, 2026 Election analyst Charlie Cook is warning Republicans to brace themselves for the midterms, The Trump administration is trying to implement a new gatekeeper role for the US Postal Service, violating…
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Nothing You Can Do Can Stop Us
September 2, 2026 Some pundits interpreted Trump’s 2024 win as a permanent political realignment, Others disagreed, seeing the swing toward Trump as due to anti-incumbent feelings, Republicans set out to redistrict…
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A Betrayal of Our Constitution
September 1, 2026 The US Supreme Court allowed Trump to continue to build his ballroom, Chief Justice Roberts wrote that the project is likely unlawful, but the project will likely be completed before that question is…
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Military Leadership is Concerned
August 31, 2026 Military leaders are warning Defense Secretary Hegseth that continuing large scale operations in Iran is unsustainable and dangerous, Trump’s insistence on having the option to launch major attacks has…
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Truth Telling
August 30, 2026 In America's founding myth about George Washington and the cherry tree, the message was that truth telling is important in a leader, Trump’s administration was supposed to notify US District Court…
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The Right to Run for Office
August 29, 2026 Republican lawmakers are attempting to restrict the ability of naturalized and dual citizens to run for office, At least five Republican members of Congress want to prohibit them from holding federal…
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The Need to Defend the Vote
August 28, 2026 On August 28, 1963, Reverend Dr Martin Luther King spoke at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, His speech was about race, but also about economics, John Lewis also spoke, calling for…
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The Stench of Corruption
August 27, 2026 RFK appears to have lied about the purpose of his Samoa trip, Information on his testimony and conduct could lead to hearings, and could prove embarrassing to the Trump administration, The war on Iran…
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Dolly
August 26, 2026 On August 25, buildings across the country were lit up in pink at 9:25, Dolly Parton was a musical prodigy encouraged by her mother, She began singing on local radio and tv shows before she was 10, and…
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Performative Nonsense
August 25, 2026 Trump is floating the idea of renaming Lake Ontario. Canadian officials will impose tariffs of up to 50% on US products on September 8, Scott Bessent’s threat to strangle Iran’s economy isn’t faring…
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Untrustworthy
August 24, 2026 Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney instructed negotiators to walk away from talks with the Trump administration, When he won reelection in 2024, Trump emphasized that he intended to use tariffs to…
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You Are Not Alone
August 22, 2026 On August 18, Sen Darline Graham of South Carolina explained that she is not that informed on national security - although senators are supposed to manage national security, Graham is a perfect…
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Do We Value an Educated Community?
August 21, 2026 On August 21, 1831, Nat Turner led 70 enslaved and free Black Americans in a violent rebellion intended to awaken his white neighbors to the brutality of slaveholding, Responding to fears that…
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Hidden Cuts to Health Care
August 20, 2026 Republicans are trying to hide the cuts they have made to health care in the US, Republicans are working to undo the progress made with the Affordable Care Act, The work requirement they have imposed…
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Trying to Change the Narrative
August 19, 2026 Republicans are melting down over stories about Trump aide Natalie Harp, The White House attacked a CNN reporter for asking about a comment by Jon Ossoff, The right wing media piled on Ossoff although…
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Fighting for the Right to Vote
August 18, 2026 On August 18, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, It gave the right to vote to women, The push for rights for women had taken root during the Civil War, But the Fourteenth…
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This is What the Commander in Chief is Doing
August 17, 2026 Trump is flooding social media with his fantasies about his prowess, Trump claimed credit for falling pharmaceutical prices that are largely the result of the Inflation Reduction Act voted in under the…
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The Yukon Gold Rush
August 16, 2026 130 years ago, on August 16, 1896, gold was found in the remote Yukon Territory of Canada, The creek where it was found would come to be known as Bonanza Creek, Tens of thousands of men rushed to the…
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In Shambles
August 15, 2026 Todd Blanche took the oath of office as attorney general on August 10, He immediately issued a memo dramatically expanding executive privilege, This expansion will hinder efforts to investigate Trump’s…
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The Social Security Act
August 14, 2026 The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to allow it to build his White House Ballroom, The National Trust of Historic Preservation has sued to stop construction, Asking to spend taxpayer money…
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Moving as Quickly as Possible
August 13, 2026 Trump’s handpicked Kennedy Center board voted to put his name back on the Kennedy Center building, The administration has ramped up attacks on immigrants, A third immigrant detained at New Jersey’s…
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Out of Control
August 12, 2026 Two Trump-endorsed candidates have lost their primary races as Trump’s approval ratings continue to slide, Former Vice President Dick Cheney’s cardiologist has written that the White House needs to…
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Trump's Tough Guy Aspirations
August 10, 2026 The Iranians believe they are in a position to dictate the terms of resolving the war in Iran, Iran and Oman are negotiating terms for travel through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian officials laid out a…
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The Road to Resignation
August 9, 2026 In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg leaks Pentagon study on decisions made, and lies told to the public, about events in Vietnam, Richard Nixon, worried that enemies would leak information about his own decision…
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Resigning the Presidency
August 8, 2026 Just before leaving for a five-week recess, Senate Republicans confirmed Todd Blanche to the post of Attorney General of the US, Some Republicans were enthusiastic, others were more skeptical but said…
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Trump’s Protestations
August 7, 2026 Reports indicate a serious shortage of US long range missiles, Trump denies this story but reportedly is frustrated with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth who in turn blames Depute Secretary of Defense…
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The Voting Rights Act
August 6, 2026 On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, In 1865, Americans ratified the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, outlawing enslavement except as punishment for…
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In Favor of the Income Tax
August 5, 2026 On August 5, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln signed a new tax into law, to help fund the US government during the Civil War, The law shifted ownership of the government to the American people, To…
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Skewing the System
August 4, 2026 In a court filing on Friday, Capital One Bank stated that it had closed more than 380 of Trump and the Trump Organization’s bank accounts for anti-money laundering reasons, Trump and the Trump…
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An Unconscionable Deal
August 3, 2026 Todd Blanche rescinded the order establishing a $1.776 billion slush fund, Blanche’s order did not change the terms of the nonprosecution order providing that the DOJ would not prosecute Trump, his…
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Manipulating the Judicial Process
August 2, 2026 The dismissal of the DOJ case against David Hearn for vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool came after Hearn’s lawyers received transcripts of the grand jury proceeding that led to the…
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Always a Lie
August 1, 2026 The Department of Justice moved to dismiss the criminal charges against David Hearn, who was indicted for vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, The filing says the damage was due to faulty…
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Trading Strategy for Ideology
July 31, 2026 Trump is reportedly “exasperated” that the Iran War, for which there was no real strategy, is dragging on and his advisors can’t agree on what to do, Trump told reporters he plans on heavy military…
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60 Years of Medicare and Medicaid
July 30, 2026 Sixty years ago, Medicare and Medicaid went into effect, Congress had amended the Social Security Act of 1935 to establish the two national health insurance programs, for seniors and for people who…
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Nothing to Stand On
July 29, 2026 Trump’s approval ratings, on the economy, inflation, gas prices, and his priorities, are sinking to 30% and below. 72% disapprove of his handling of the situation in Iran, There are significant pockets…
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Trying to Rewrite History
July 27, 2026 The administration is attempting to rewrite the history of the US, It argues that the US was founded as a white nation, an echo of 1930s German ideology, The White House issued a report saing that the…
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Rejecting the Constitutional Order
July 26, 2026 Trump and his allies are acting as if the Constitution doesn’t exist, Their actions align with the strategy of Nazi political theorist Carl Schmitt, Schmitt’s philosophy centered around the idea that…
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Whitewashing
July 25, 2026 The White House is moving forward on plans to paint the grey granite Eisenhower Executive Office Building, in spite of the damage it might cause and the maintenance it will requre, By claiming that the…
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For Their Own Ends
July 24, 2026 Federal officials have admitted that cuts from clean energy projects were based on whether states had voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, Rather than combatting waste, the…
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A Politically Impossible Situation
uly 23, 2026 In a speech in 1953, President Dwight D Eisenhower warned that diverting tax dollars to war came at the expense of the American people, Trump is slashing programs that people depend on for food, health,…
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Is This Fascism
July 22, 2026 Rep Jim McGovern spoke about the state of the Republican Party on the floor of the House, The speech called the party out for falling back on the communist label to divert attention from the economy and…
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Dramatic Cuts
July 21, 2026 The One Big Beautiful Bill Act has made the deepest cuts to SNAP in its history, leaving hundreds of thousands of Americans without benefits, The administration claims it is cleaning out fraud, but there…
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Shirking Responsibility
July 20, 2026 On July 17, an Iranian attack on a US base in Jordan killed two soldiers, and left one missing, 17 military personnel have been killed in the Iran War and the Pentagon says 427 have been wounded, Iran is…
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Massachusetts 54th Regiment
July 18, 2026 July 18, 1863, the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Infantry charged Fort Wagner, in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, Fort Wagner covered the southern entrance to the harbor and was key to the US…
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A Deeply Unpopular Push
July 17, 2026 Trump and his team are throwing the weight of the government behind a far right conspiracy, The preoccupation with communism leads to a claim that all political positions designed to regulate business…
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