Government of the People, by the People, for the People

Government of the People, by the People, for the People

July 3, 2026 On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, The Declaration of independence was an astonishing radical document, despite its shortcomings, America was founded on the radical idea that all men are created equal, The Civil War tested whether the nation was dedicated to the idea that all men are created equal, The US endured and Americans began to expand the idea of equality to include Black men, men of color, and women, We are facing a rebellion against our founding principle today,  Lincoln’s reminder that "this nation shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth" are words to live by in 2026. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- [https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-] Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe [https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe] You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ [https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson [https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson] Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe [https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Resting on the Rule of Law

July 2, 2026 On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress passed a Resolution for Independence, They declared that the Colonies were free and independent states, and that all political connection between them and Great Britain was and ought to be totally dissolved, Known as the Lee Resolution, it was the final break between the king and the 13 colonies, After the French and Indian War, the colonies were proud to be members of the British Empire but after Britain passed taxes, the colonists were shocked, and raised the question of whether the king could be checked by the people, The colonies demanded equality in the British Empire, tensions spread, and the British were determined to end the rebellion, After the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Second Continental Congress created a Continental Army to be led by George Washington, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense spread the idea that the law is king in a free country, an idea that spread through the colonies, By April 1776, declarations of independence were being written in states, and on June 7, the Lee Resolution was drafted by Congress, and it passed on July 2, John Adams declared the Second Day of July 1776 as the most memorable in the history of America, It advanced the idea that a nation should rest not on the arbitrary rule of a single man and his hand-picked advisors, but on the rule of law. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- [https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-] Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe [https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe] You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ [https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson [https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson] Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe [https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The White House is Not a Business Opportunity

July 1, 2026Trump takes the first flight on the new Air Force One, gifted by Qatar, White House officials awarded a no-bid contract for the construction of Trump’s ballroom, Trump had claimed the work would be paid for by private donations but more than half the work done so far is coming from taxpayers, The Trumps and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are self-dealing, Trump has taken in a reported $1.4 billion from cryptocurrency ventures and that number may be understated, Investors have suffered vast losses, When Trump paused his tariffs, his investment accounts took advantage of the stock swings, Conflicts of interest are rampant, though the White House denies them,  Senator Chris Murphy calls the corruption of the Trump White House a national crisis. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- [https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-] Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe [https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe] You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ [https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson [https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson] Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe [https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Birthright Citizenship

June 30, 2026 Trump signed an executive order, on his first day in office, declaring that there was no birthright citizenship, The ACLU and others sued the administration, The Fourteenth Amendment established birthright citizenship, After the Civil War former Confederates denied Black Southerners basic rights, The Republican Congress passed a civil rights bill in 1866 but President Andrew Johnson vetoed it, When Congress wrote the 14th Amendment, it acknowledged that the Constitution had already established citizenship for all persons born or naturalized in the US, The 14th Amendment was challenged in the late 19th century, but the Supreme Court upheld it in 1898, After that, It seemed the law was settled, After Trump issued his executive order, judges all sided against him, and today the current court upheld birthright citizenship, But many have said that the Supreme Court should never have even taken the case, And four of the nine current Supreme Court justices appear to be willing to rewrite the Constitution, MAGA is pressing the administration to step up immigration enforcement in response.  Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- [https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-] Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe [https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe] You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ [https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson [https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson] Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe [https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

The Unitary Executive

June 29, 2026 In the case of Slaughter v Trump, Trump claimed he has the right to fire Rebecca Slaughter, a member of the Federal Trade Commission even though the Court has long said the president does not have the power to fire members of independent agencies except in extreme cases, The argument is an attempt to establish the idea of the unitary executive which asserts the power of the president and diminishes the power of Congress, The theory proposes that the president cannot be reined in by the other two branches of government, In a 6-3 vote the Supreme court decided in Trump’s favor, Dissenting justices wrote that the Court is undoing centuries of practice, elevating the president above his once coequal branches, The decision gives Trump power he clearly has no inclination to give up. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- [https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-] Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe [https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe] You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en [https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ [https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson [https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson] Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe [https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]