A Long Time in Coming
April 2026 Imperfect Union
Gosh, I have so much to share with you guys! Over the last year, I’ve written several things here and there and those projects are coming to fruition. This post is a bit of a hodgepodge, which is different than my usual post. I’m proud of the work, however, so I hope it is fun or useful.
1 - A few weeks ago, I published an essay with In Pursuit on John Quincy Adams and what we can learn from his leadership.
It is so fun to share a sneak peak of my work on John Quincy Adams and the rest of the lineup is fantastic. I hope you will follow along.
2 - I also spoke with Colleen Shogan, editor of In Pursuit, about the project. You can watch or listen to that video here.
3 - I wrote an essay for the National Constitution Center about the final two paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence. I don’t think I’ve shared it here. A version of the bigger book project is now available too.
4 - There is also a great video version for classroom use.
5 - If you’ve been here for a while, you might remember that I used to feature upcoming books at the end of my newsletters. But no matter how many times I wrote in BIG, BOLD letters that I hadn’t read the books and I wasn’t endorsing them, I would always get comments and emails asking me what I thought about them. It drove me crazy, but I also worried about the appearance of endorsing books I had not read. What if one was bad? I work really hard to only recommend books that I like because I want that endorsement to mean something.
Well, this month, there are two books coming out that I have read and love, so I wanted to share them with you. I had the privilege of reading earlier versions of these books in writing groups and watching their progression. They are both timely, relevant, and change how we thing about a well-trod story.
The Westerners: Mythmaking and Belonging on the American Frontier by Megan Kate Nelson is beautifully written and often more fascinating that fiction. The seven protagonists weave across the west, popping up in unexpected places like Forrest Gump. As we enter the 250th year of the nation’s history and debate who counts as an American, The Westerners reminds us that this discussion is as old as the nation itself.
When the Declaration of Independence Was News by Emily Sneff is the book I wish most people would read about the Declaration before July 4. It really puts the document, and the new nation, in international context and reminds us that we have always, always been part of a complicated global community.
6 - Lastly, I wanted to take a moment to celebrate the peaceful transfer of power in Hungary. The peaceful transfer of power is the bedrock of any democracy (even those that are struggling). Transition is one of the weakest moments of any government. For monarchies, historically the hereditary transition is a moment of weakness.
For democracies, the fragility is built into the system because there is always a losing candidate. As a result, peaceful transfer requires the goodwill of both outgoing and incoming leaders, or the losing and winning candidate depending on incumbency. They also depend on citizens upholding the peaceful transfer as something to be expected, demanded, celebrated, and cherished.
Social studies tell us that democracies survive or fail together. If the United States democracy is strong, it strengthens other democracies around the world. The inverse is true too. Therefore, Viktor Orbán’s defeat and his immediate concession is worth celebrating. While the polls suggested the defeat was expected, Orbán’s concession was far from guaranteed. It is a spark of light in a dark world. This transition also suggests that coordinated public action can overcome illiberal restraints. I think the coming years will offer an opportunity to strengthen our democracy through a series of reforms and we won’t be alone.
This article by Anne Applebaum is great and a good place to start for more reading.
