Letters from an American
A newsletter about the history behind today's politics.
Letters from an American is a historian’s perspective of today’s political landscape. Heather Cox Richardson highlights what is important out of the day’s news, eliminating the noise around it. The author gives context to today’s politics by placing everything into the big picture of American history. Letters from an American are considered to be both informative and hopeful. You can expect facts and details, together with the provided sources at the end of every post and original perspectives from the author. Subscribe to the voice of reason and explore “what it means and what it has meant, to be an American.”
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An Essential Voice
In her daily newsletter, “Letters From An American,” historian Heather Cox Richardson eschews overt outrage, bombast, and hyperbole in favor of an honest, direct, clear-eyed summary and contextualization of current, mostly political, events. In doing so, she helps quiet and distill the cacophony and barrage of the modern news cycle to its digestible essence, educating her readers on what they might have missed, and helping them better understand the issues — both in real time and within the context of the longer arc of history. This isn’t to say she is politically neutral. Cox Richardson isn’t shooting for 100% objectivity, and has no apparent need or interest in providing equal space to, say, conspiratorial nonsense, fascist viewpoints, or science deniers. It is to say that both her bent and conclusions, to the extent she reveals them, are grounded in and supported by facts, citations to which she provides. Cox Richardson’s gift lies somewhere in her all-too-rare ability to occupy two chairs at once — that of a patient and wise observer of history, and someone who understands the seriousness and urgency of our particular moment within it. Strongly recommended.
My One Essential Daily “Must Read”
Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed by the news? Overwhelmed by the sheer volume of content and how in the world you make sense of it all? Read “Letters from an American.” For me it’s like putting on corrective lens to more clearly see and understand the news from a healthy historical perspective. Heather Cox Richardson has the unique ability to illuminate current events in broader historical context so the reader can more clearly see and understand the whole picture. She connects the dots between current events and their roots in American history. And the suddenly the light turns on. “Ah! Now I get it!” “So that’s where this actually began.” “I had no idea.” There is power in stories. Who we are is shaped by our American stories. Much of our current political crisis in America is the power struggle over narrative to shape and control the stories of America. Misinformation is creating dangerous fiction that distorts who we were and who we are. Heather brings the light of historical truth — the corrective lens — to disperse the fog of so much nonsense out there and help us see clearly today’s reality and how we got here. “Letters from an American” and that first cup of coffee is my daily morning intellectual breakfast to start my day on a healthy, enlightened note. It’s my one essential MUST READ each day and it never disappoints.
Letters from an American
Reading Letters from an American is often the high point of my day. In it, Dr Heather Cox Richardson discusses critical current events affecting both Americans and the world in light of their historical context. Her daily essays are written clearly and logically, yet with a passion for the democratic ideals on which the United States of America was founded. Her academic background as a scholar of the American Reconstruction period enable her to discuss sensitive issues like race, human rights, and equality under the law with expertise as well as empathy.
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