As we approach July 4, 2026—the 250th birthday of this country—I find myself asking: How well do we really know the story we’re celebrating?

No slogans. No soundbites. Just the story.

It’s in vogue these days to charge that our history has been whitewashed. Others say it’s being “rewritten” through a woke lens. Still some say it isn’t being taught at all. I will reserve judgment on such matters in search of the facts.

What can we know about the foundation of our nation?

For the next twenty-seven weeks, from as neutral a point of view as I can muster, I’m going to do something simple. Once a week—starting the first week of January and ending on July 4, 2026—I’ll post a short “note” from U.S. history.

Not a textbook. Not a lecture. Not a political diatribe.

Just one focused snapshot at a time:

  • a moment
  • a person
  • a decision
  • a small event with big consequences

These notes won’t cover everything. They can’t. But they will trace a path from the Stamp Act crisis to the Treaty of Paris, from scattered colonies to a newborn nation, and along the way, they’ll highlight voices and events we tend to forget.

Some stories will be familiar: Lexington and Concord, Valley Forge, Yorktown.
Others may be new: the Liberty Riot, the Gaspee Affair, Halifax Resolves, forgotten riders, obscure resolutions, unexpected heroes and flawed ones.

What I’m Not Doing

I’m not trying to prove America is perfect. Because she isn’t. And I’m not trying to prove America is irredeemable. I’m trying to do something quieter—and harder: To remember that this country began not as a finished product, but as a risky, fragile, daring experiment in self-government.

These 27 notes are my way of walking back through that story—one small step at a time—between now and the 250th candle on America’s cake.

My hope is that these weekly notes will stir your curiosity; give you stories to share with kids and grandkids; remind you that flesh-and-blood people, not marble statues, built this country; and help us celebrate the Fourth not just with fireworks, but with understanding.

You don’t have to agree with all my interpretations. In fact, you’re welcome to argue with them. That’s very American.

But I hope, at the very least, you’ll join me in honoring the idea that a free people should know the story of how their freedom began.

So, let’s start where the colonists first began to think of themselves as one people: 1765 and the Stamp Act. Look for it in Substack Notes on Jan. 7.

27 notes. One a week.

A slow walk to July 4, 2026.

Let’s see what we discover along the way.