American flags flying near the US Capitol Building on March 10, 2026. | Al Drago/Getty Images
How would you grade America’s first 250 years?
That’s the question I posed to historian and professor Heather Cox Richardson on this week’s episode of America, Actually — and a question I pose to myself.
All grades are subjective, and the rubric of whether America earns a passing grade is one of position and perspective, but the best I could come up with was a B-/C+.
The enduring model of multiracial democracy, however fragile it currently is, deserves some credit. So does the long list o...
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