Heather Cox Richardson on America’s Political History  & “Letters from an American” | the Daily Show

You're like a Beatle around here. That's rock star vibe. History's cool. What can I say? Well, you make history cool. I gotta tell you, I'll be honest, I wish I paid more attention in history class. I was clearly snoozing, but holy hell am I so grateful to have access to your wisdom right now in this moment of... American history. Well, thank you, but I think history really only becomes real to you when you get old enough to see the bigger picture so that you can figure out where things fit in sort of the light bright of human experience. Well, yeah, it really is so... Your work is so important right now. Your Letters from an American is the most read politics newsletter on Substack. You have a combined 7 million readers. I didn't even know... I didn't even know 7 million Americans knew how to read. Well, it is a funny thing, isn't it, right? You know, I think that in this moment, people are looking for the actual facts of what this country is and what it's been and how you change it. And so it turned out there was a huge readership for people who were able to say, this is how it works, this is how it's worked in the past, and this is how it can work in the future. Who knew, right? But it's there. Well, so, okay, we're a week and some change right after the midterms. As an historian, how are you looking at this particular moment? Scott Cologne, baby. Yeah. Yeah, and earlier, you were showing that incredible ad he had about choosing a different protein. But, you know, the other ad that he had about Medgar Evers and just walking through his house and saying he died for the right to vote, why don't you exercise it? I wonder if that was just as powerful, because what this election was really about was the American people saying, hey, wait a minute, it's our government, not your government, and this is our opportunity to take a back seat. Were the results surprising to you? A little. Yeah, yeah. The results, I think most of us have PTSD about watching election results. And I was hoping that we would have enough in the Senate that we would be able to push through legislation in the next Congress. But as those numbers kept going up and as the dominoes kept falling, I kept thinking, I just have waited a very long time to see this and I did not expect Back to see it happen. What about you? Oh, well, I was feeling cautiously optimistic, but I was overwhelmed, overwhelmed and really, truly feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time. And I have to say, not to belabor the point, but when Scott Cologne was still in the game, by the time I went to bed that night, you realized it was something that we have not seen in our lifetimes and that people haven't seen for a very long time. And that's really exciting, right? To sit there and say, we really can. We really can change the direction of our country if we choose to participate in it. And that's what makes this election so incredibly exciting, is that recognition that all the cards are in the air and we get to catch them and figure out how we want them to go back down. That's right. And I have to say, I don't think we have blue waves like this without scholars like you walking us through these moments and guiding us. And people like you informing people about what's happening, because that actually matters a lot, right? A lot more than that. It's a team, but that's what's so cool about this is it's a team where everybody is bringing their A game to whatever it is they do best. And when you do that, you create new things, exciting new things. We're, we are in such an exciting time right now. Is there a moment in history that, that you can point to that is Reminding you of this particular moment. There are a lot of them. You know, the 1850s, I talk a lot about the 1890s and then the 1930s. But in this particular moment, for a number of reasons, it's the 1890s that really springs out to me. In part because that was a moment, too, where you saw the rise of this extraordinary wealth that made it very clear that they were going to control the future both of the economy but also of politics. And there's a moment when the American people realized, for a number of reasons, Because of new media that comes up and informs people about the way the country really works. People take a look around them and they say, wait a minute, this is not the way a society should work. And they begin to organize at the local level, primarily women organizing at the local level, both in the black community and the white community, to say, this is not the way we should be living. Thank you. Thank you. Tends to make people recognize how important democracy is and we get the rise of the progressive era in which Americans take back their government and say we want the government to regulate business, to provide a basic social safety net, to promote infrastructure, and to protect civil rights. And boy, doesn't that look kind of like where we are? I'm curious, in this moment right now, the Democrats have the control soon. Soon. Soon. How do they demand accountability and justice without taking their eye off of governing for the people and really producing real policy results? But don't you think they're the same thing? I mean, accountability for the people who are taking control of our system by, oh, I don't know, breaking laws, is also part of saying we need to get our government to be protecting the rights of individuals to have access to the things they need, first of all, to survive. But second of all, to thrive, you know, equal access to resources of education and health care and decent pay and housing and all the things that are really what a government is supposed to do. So I look at the idea of requiring accountability for lawbreaking. As being the other side of the same coin of saying we need to have a government that works for the majority of us. And I think it's not even, you can walk and chew gum at the same time, but it's actually sort of doing it both together, right? Well, I hope they can. Do you think they can? Are we in? I actually think they can. And you know what else I think? I think it's going to be fun to watch them. Because the key to accountability are hearings, and there will be all the usual spin that you see in a hearing, but isn't it going to be interesting to find out, you know, who was behind the contracts for tearing down the East Wing of the White House? Oh, I'm popping popcorn right now. Totally, totally. We can have a viewing party. There you go. You put out a newsletter every single day. Night. Night. You write at night? I write all day and I put it out at night, yes. Okay, so you write during the day. How do you sit down and write every single day? Aren't there days where you just want to take a nap? Every day. Every day. What are your writing rituals? Do you have any quirky writing rituals? I wake up every morning and I pick up my phone, which is to the left of my bed, and I hold Hold it up in front of me. And I literally say to my husband, what? Fresh hell awaits me today and that is the ritual that starts the day and then I read all day long and then I try to get some repetitive exercise during the day because it helps me think and then I just start to write. It's a habit now. Yeah, that's so healthy. I wake up the same way. What fresh hell are we about to get into? But then I take a shot of bourbon and it slows me down a little bit if I'm being honest. I guess. So many of us turn to you to be a study guide during this time. Who are the people that you turn to? So, you know, people ask me this, and I think it's really important to be clear that I am the mouthpiece for other people. Like, I am bringing my A game as a writer and as a historian, but it's not ever been about me. It's been about the community around me that asks questions and provides support and reinforces my faith in democracy. So I don't feel like I need that kind of a mentor or that kind of a teacher, that I am just embedded in something that is so big and so strong that I don't get depressed about what I write. And I don't, I just feel like I'm part of the team. Is it a prescription? Thank you for watching. I'll see you in the next video. Bye! My doctor about no, here's it. Here's a bit of an oddball question for you, but I'm dying to know you're throwing a dinner party Okay, you can invite three. Do I have to clean my house? No No. You don't have to clean your house. You can invite three historical figures dead or alive Who would you invite but here's the curveball? Donald Trump invited himself and he's also sitting at Thank you for coming to the table. Oh, that's so much fun. Okay, so first of all, do they have to be honest? Like, so if they come to my table, they're going to talk honestly. Sure. Like you give them a truth serum or something? Well, yes. So that because some of them like the one... You're such a writer, you're inventing the rules. You're writing the rules. That's how it works. Let's go with it. But the person that I would most like to meet in history is Booker T. Washington. Because he lived in so many worlds. And he lived in worlds that literally could shoot him between the shoulder blades when he got up and walked out of his house in the morning. And he navigated all those worlds. I think that is absolutely fascinating. But we know that he did that by not being honest in a number of the different faces that he wore. So I want to know how he did it. And you couldn't know how he did it unless he were going to be honest. Now, but you've got Donald Trump there. There you go. So, Booker T. Washington could take Donald Trump in a heartbeat. That's not a problem. Yeah. Well, here, let me throw in another curveball. But then do you want somebody big or forceful or, I mean... It could be any of the above. But now let's put Donald Trump in a straitjacket. Oh, that's totally fun. All right. So that makes it interesting. Now you're killing me because I would like to have at a dinner party Abraham Lincoln, right? Because why not, right? Of course. But Teddy Roosevelt would totally take him. He would just totally take him. So that's a hard one. But, of course, Lincoln was a good fighter, too. You know, that's a bad question to ask a historian because I could literally do this all night. I guess I'm fired now. I'll see myself out. Too hard. It's too hard to make. You can invite one more person. I changed the rules. You can invite four people. Yeah, but that's not good because I can't have Teddy Roosevelt and Lincoln. They wouldn't get along. So give me give me Teddy Roosevelt to tackle Donald Trump. And then I want to have somebody like Phillis Wheatley or. Thank Fannie Lou Hamer's too easy. Somebody from the late 19th century who could never imagine where we are today. you Oh, that's good. And that gives me Red Cloud, maybe. Somebody who's going to look at the place we are now and say, very explain to me how we got here because this is not what I imagined. Oh, that's good. much. Would you be serving alcohol? Lots of alcohol. Lots of alcohol. And you know what? That knocks out Lincoln. So let's go with that. Yeah. Would you invite me to one of your dinner parties? Forget this history thing. Wouldn't it be fun to be able to do that? Yeah. You know, to have anybody you wanted at their table? A dream. Who would you take? Well, I'd probably, let's see. I have to go through all the housewives. I'm not going to do that. I'd be thrilled to sit down and have dinner with you so we can talk longer. I really, really appreciate you being here. You are so incredible at what you do. Thank you. And thank you for everything you do. The team matters, right?