Letters from an American A newsletter about the history behind today's politics.
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January 14, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 15, 2026
Today is officially Ratification Day, the anniversary of the day in 1784 when members of the Confederation Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary War and formally recognized the independence of the United States from Great Britain.
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January 13, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 14, 2026
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January 13, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 14, 2026
Officials in the Trump administration insist its surges of federal agents into Democratic-led cities are necessary to round up undocumented immigrants, but the agents’ mission increasingly looks as if it is to frighten opponents of the administration into submission.
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Politics Chat, January 13, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 14, 2026
A newsletter about the history behind today's politics.
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January 12, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 13, 2026
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January 12, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 13, 2026
Today, Democratic senator Mark Kelly of Arizona sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Defense Department, Navy Secretary John Phelan, and the Navy Department for violating his First Amendment rights, the Speech and Debate Clause of the U.S.
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January 11, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 13, 2026
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Battle of the Bulge Episode 2: The Malmedy Massacre
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 12, 2026
This is the second installment of the Battle of the Bulge series for Journey to American Democracy.
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January 11, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 12, 2026
The news has seemed to move more and more quickly in the last week.
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January 10, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 11, 2026
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January 10, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 11, 2026
Yesterday, in an apparent attempt to regain control of the national narrative surrounding the deadly shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis, Vice President J.D.
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January 9, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 10, 2026
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January 9, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 10, 2026
Beginning in 1943, the War Department published a series of pamphlets for U.S.
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Journey to American Democracy: The Battle of the Bulge
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 10, 2026
This new series in Journey to American Democracy comes to you thanks to that odd way history has of braiding the past and the present.
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January 8, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 9, 2026
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January 8, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 9, 2026
On MS NOW today, columnist Philip Bump broke down when talking about the shooting of Renee Nicole Good yesterday in Minneapolis.
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Politics Chat, January 8, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 9, 2026
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January 7, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 8, 2026
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January 7, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 8, 2026
This morning, a federal agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good as she was driving away from ICE agents on a residential street in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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January 6, 2026
by Heather Cox Richardson on January 7, 2026






