{"id":581,"date":"2026-07-02T17:08:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T17:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/?p=581"},"modified":"2026-07-02T17:08:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T17:08:34","slug":"america-at-250-who-are-we-anyway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/?p=581","title":{"rendered":"America at 250: Who are we, anyway?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><section><div><p>America turns 250 this year. The celebrations are already underway \u2014 and so are the questions.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/?p=568\">The world\u2019s oceans just broke a disturbing record<\/a><\/p><\/div><div><p>President Donald Trump has put himself at the center of the anniversary in Washington, DC, with hype-filled plans for festivals and fireworks. Nationally, the lead-up has turned into a roiling conversation about what America even represents these days \u2014 how we all grapple with American identity, politics, and competing visions for the country.<\/p><\/div><div><p>Vox\u2019s journalists have been asking those questions, too, and turning up surprising insights about American history, smart ideas about our future, and even some unheralded good news about the present. The stories below explore America\u2019s quarter-millennium moment from different angles, looking at the forces shaping American life at 250 and beyond.<\/p><\/div><\/section><div><section><ul><li><div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Constance Grady\" class=\"wp-image-570\" height=\"160\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5c656d0a595bee22656b11342431b55.webp\" width=\"160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5c656d0a595bee22656b11342431b55.webp 160w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5c656d0a595bee22656b11342431b55-150x150.webp 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><div><span><time>Jul 1<\/time><\/span><p><span>Constance Grady<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><h2>5 books that define America \u2014 for better and for worse<\/h2><div><div><div><div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Vox_Highlight_GreatAmericanNovel_MiguelPorlan\" class=\"wp-image-571\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5ef36430cc9c4f28d3f7a05ccdee8be-1024x683.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5ef36430cc9c4f28d3f7a05ccdee8be-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5ef36430cc9c4f28d3f7a05ccdee8be-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5ef36430cc9c4f28d3f7a05ccdee8be-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5ef36430cc9c4f28d3f7a05ccdee8be-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5ef36430cc9c4f28d3f7a05ccdee8be.webp 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Vox_Highlight_GreatAmericanNovel_MiguelPorlan\" class=\"wp-image-571\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5ef36430cc9c4f28d3f7a05ccdee8be-1024x683.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5ef36430cc9c4f28d3f7a05ccdee8be-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5ef36430cc9c4f28d3f7a05ccdee8be-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5ef36430cc9c4f28d3f7a05ccdee8be-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5ef36430cc9c4f28d3f7a05ccdee8be-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5ef36430cc9c4f28d3f7a05ccdee8be.webp 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><div><cite>Miguel Porlan for Vox<\/cite><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div><p>Some countries built their identities on their land. Some countries built their identities on a shared ethnic heritage. America, however, began with an idea on a piece of paper.<\/p><p>\u201cAmerica was an enlightenment experiment, and so that means we have to make our own identity,\u201d said Mark Graybill, a professor of English at Widener University who specializes in American literature. To do so, we need books: novels that articulate what it\u2019s like to live in this strange new land.<\/p>Read Article &gt;<\/div><\/li><li><div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Marina Bolotnikova\" class=\"wp-image-572\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f51413f3833464c0c2d1dd047056065d.webp\" width=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f51413f3833464c0c2d1dd047056065d.webp 512w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f51413f3833464c0c2d1dd047056065d-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f51413f3833464c0c2d1dd047056065d-150x150.webp 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><div><span><time>Jul 1<\/time><\/span><p><span>Marina Bolotnikova<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><h2>America\u2019s housing was built for a world we no longer live in<\/h2><div><div><div><div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Vox_Highlight_Housing_MiguelPorlan\" class=\"wp-image-573\" height=\"689\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/991800ba408e21b02dd815b74e96b64d-1024x689.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/991800ba408e21b02dd815b74e96b64d-1024x689.webp 1024w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/991800ba408e21b02dd815b74e96b64d-300x202.webp 300w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/991800ba408e21b02dd815b74e96b64d-768x517.webp 768w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/991800ba408e21b02dd815b74e96b64d-1536x1034.webp 1536w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/991800ba408e21b02dd815b74e96b64d-2048x1379.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Vox_Highlight_Housing_MiguelPorlan\" class=\"wp-image-573\" height=\"689\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/991800ba408e21b02dd815b74e96b64d-1024x689.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/991800ba408e21b02dd815b74e96b64d-1024x689.webp 1024w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/991800ba408e21b02dd815b74e96b64d-300x202.webp 300w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/991800ba408e21b02dd815b74e96b64d-768x517.webp 768w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/991800ba408e21b02dd815b74e96b64d-1536x1034.webp 1536w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/991800ba408e21b02dd815b74e96b64d-2048x1379.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><div><cite>Miguel Porlan for Vox<\/cite><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div><p>America\u2019s housing supply was built for a world we no longer live in. But what will replace it?<\/p><p>As the nation turns 250, that is one of the most important questions we face in the coming decades. Building enough homes, of the right kind, and in the right places is a prerequisite for economic opportunity and growth. Our crippling housing shortage is upstream of many of the problems that ail the US, from our cost of living and increasingly zero-sum politics to our seemingly intractable national bad mood.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/?p=566\">How extreme heat is changing summer camp<\/a><\/p>Read Article &gt;<\/div><\/li><li><div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Bryan Walsh\" class=\"wp-image-574\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/32a22760e6a0e198b6dfda34c6bb3811.webp\" width=\"512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/32a22760e6a0e198b6dfda34c6bb3811.webp 512w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/32a22760e6a0e198b6dfda34c6bb3811-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/32a22760e6a0e198b6dfda34c6bb3811-150x150.webp 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><div><span><time>Jun 29<\/time><\/span><p><span>Bryan Walsh<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><h2>The US is better off than it was in 1976. So why does it feel worse?<\/h2><div><div><div><div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"GettyImages-2261337055\" class=\"wp-image-575\" height=\"685\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7a39588b23a73d348da12a29ba8a18f6-1024x685.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7a39588b23a73d348da12a29ba8a18f6-1024x685.webp 1024w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7a39588b23a73d348da12a29ba8a18f6-300x201.webp 300w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7a39588b23a73d348da12a29ba8a18f6-768x514.webp 768w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7a39588b23a73d348da12a29ba8a18f6-1536x1028.webp 1536w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7a39588b23a73d348da12a29ba8a18f6-2048x1370.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"GettyImages-2261337055\" class=\"wp-image-575\" height=\"685\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7a39588b23a73d348da12a29ba8a18f6-1024x685.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7a39588b23a73d348da12a29ba8a18f6-1024x685.webp 1024w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7a39588b23a73d348da12a29ba8a18f6-300x201.webp 300w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7a39588b23a73d348da12a29ba8a18f6-768x514.webp 768w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7a39588b23a73d348da12a29ba8a18f6-1536x1028.webp 1536w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/7a39588b23a73d348da12a29ba8a18f6-2048x1370.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><div><figcaption>\ufeffRoughly 60 percent of Americans tell pollsters the nation is on the wrong track. A majority say its best years are behind it.<\/figcaption> <cite>Getty Images<\/cite><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div><p>America in the summer of 1976 was not in a good place.<\/p><p>The president who presided over the country\u2019s bicentennial, President Gerald Ford, only had the job because the previous president and vice president had resigned in disgrace, making him the sole US president who was never actually elected. The Vietnam War had ended in defeat and disgrace when Saigon fell the year before, after the deaths of nearly 60,000 American servicemembers. Inflation hit double digits in 1974 and stayed ugly, unemployment sat near 8 percent, and economists had to invent a word \u2014 stagflation \u2014 for an economy that seemed to encompass the worst of both worlds.<\/p>Read Article &gt;<\/div><\/li><li><div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"72\" height=\"72\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-576\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/8a74e4b00167cca5401c49a391f87a2f.png\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><div><span><time>Jun 10<\/time><\/span><p><span>Kelli Wessinger<\/span><span><span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Noel King<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><h2>Will Trump ruin America\u2019s birthday?<\/h2><div><div><div><div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Construction Continues Around D.C. As The Nation\u2019s Capital Prepares For America\u2019s 250th Events\" class=\"wp-image-577\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1e5399b1f28d4e6187845fc10ae78f29-1024x683.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1e5399b1f28d4e6187845fc10ae78f29-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1e5399b1f28d4e6187845fc10ae78f29-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1e5399b1f28d4e6187845fc10ae78f29-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1e5399b1f28d4e6187845fc10ae78f29-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1e5399b1f28d4e6187845fc10ae78f29-2048x1365.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Construction Continues Around D.C. As The Nation\u2019s Capital Prepares For America\u2019s 250th Events\" class=\"wp-image-577\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1e5399b1f28d4e6187845fc10ae78f29-1024x683.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1e5399b1f28d4e6187845fc10ae78f29-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1e5399b1f28d4e6187845fc10ae78f29-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1e5399b1f28d4e6187845fc10ae78f29-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1e5399b1f28d4e6187845fc10ae78f29-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1e5399b1f28d4e6187845fc10ae78f29-2048x1365.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><div><figcaption>An entrance to a construction area of Freedom 250\u2019s Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, DC, on May 28, 2026.<\/figcaption> <cite>Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div><p>President Donald Trump has <em>big<\/em> plans for America\u2019s 250th birthday celebration, which gets underway this month. Some are anodyne: a state fair on the National Mall, for example, and what will reportedly be a record-breaking fireworks display.<\/p><p>Others, though, are focused a little bit more on Trump than America: There will also be a UFC cage match on the South Lawn of the White House (on the president\u2019s birthday), and a planned \u201cFreedom 250\u201d concert has already morphed into a full-blown Trump rally. And the whole thing is being presided over by not one but two groups: America250, Congress\u2019s decade-old initiative to celebrate the country, and Freedom 250, which is the Trump administration\u2019s very own.<\/p>Read Article &gt;<\/div><\/li><li><div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Constance Grady\" class=\"wp-image-570\" height=\"160\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5c656d0a595bee22656b11342431b55.webp\" width=\"160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5c656d0a595bee22656b11342431b55.webp 160w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/f5c656d0a595bee22656b11342431b55-150x150.webp 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 160px) 100vw, 160px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><div><span><time>Jun 1<\/time><\/span><p><span>Constance Grady<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><h2>Trump\u2019s Freedom 250 fest crashout proves he\u2019s the only true MAGA celebrity<\/h2><div><div><div><div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"GettyImages-2273500910\" class=\"wp-image-578\" height=\"676\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20ded87eea6d9d5ab579f4f64606cac2-1024x676.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20ded87eea6d9d5ab579f4f64606cac2-1024x676.webp 1024w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20ded87eea6d9d5ab579f4f64606cac2-300x198.webp 300w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20ded87eea6d9d5ab579f4f64606cac2-768x507.webp 768w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20ded87eea6d9d5ab579f4f64606cac2-1536x1014.webp 1536w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20ded87eea6d9d5ab579f4f64606cac2-2048x1352.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"GettyImages-2273500910\" class=\"wp-image-578\" height=\"676\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20ded87eea6d9d5ab579f4f64606cac2-1024x676.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20ded87eea6d9d5ab579f4f64606cac2-1024x676.webp 1024w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20ded87eea6d9d5ab579f4f64606cac2-300x198.webp 300w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20ded87eea6d9d5ab579f4f64606cac2-768x507.webp 768w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20ded87eea6d9d5ab579f4f64606cac2-1536x1014.webp 1536w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20ded87eea6d9d5ab579f4f64606cac2-2048x1352.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><div><figcaption>President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the Villages Charter School in Sumterville, Florida, on May 1, 2026.<\/figcaption> <cite>Thomas Simonetti\/Bloomberg via Getty Images<\/cite><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div><p>President Donald Trump spent the weekend crashing out on TruthSocial as artist after artist dropped out of the Freedom 250 festival, a White House concert series that will celebrate America\u2019s 250th anniversary later this month. Trump ultimately declared he wanted to cancel the concert and replace it with a rally, featuring \u201cthe Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime\u201d \u2014 himself.<\/p><p>Trump\u2019s tantrum illuminates an element of his presidency that seems to both delight him and cause him great distress: 10 years into the MAGA movement, Trump remains the only true star MAGA has to offer. There is no one else willing to affiliate themselves with the movement who can pull in crowds the way Trump can, a fact that appears to be both flattering and humiliating to him.<\/p>Read Article &gt;<\/div><\/li><li><div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Astead Herndon\" class=\"wp-image-579\" height=\"621\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b1558f054413d120af9eadb19ca4959f.webp\" width=\"619\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b1558f054413d120af9eadb19ca4959f.webp 619w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b1558f054413d120af9eadb19ca4959f-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/b1558f054413d120af9eadb19ca4959f-150x150.webp 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 619px) 100vw, 619px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><div><span><time>May 2<\/time><\/span><p><span>Astead Herndon<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div><h2>Heather Cox Richardson grades America<\/h2><div><div><div><div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"US Capitol\" class=\"wp-image-580\" height=\"676\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ef2b4579a25d86625dc8c53cad9d9da8-1024x676.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ef2b4579a25d86625dc8c53cad9d9da8-1024x676.webp 1024w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ef2b4579a25d86625dc8c53cad9d9da8-300x198.webp 300w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ef2b4579a25d86625dc8c53cad9d9da8-768x507.webp 768w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ef2b4579a25d86625dc8c53cad9d9da8-1536x1014.webp 1536w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ef2b4579a25d86625dc8c53cad9d9da8-2048x1352.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"US Capitol\" class=\"wp-image-580\" height=\"676\" src=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ef2b4579a25d86625dc8c53cad9d9da8-1024x676.webp\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ef2b4579a25d86625dc8c53cad9d9da8-1024x676.webp 1024w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ef2b4579a25d86625dc8c53cad9d9da8-300x198.webp 300w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ef2b4579a25d86625dc8c53cad9d9da8-768x507.webp 768w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ef2b4579a25d86625dc8c53cad9d9da8-1536x1014.webp 1536w, https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ef2b4579a25d86625dc8c53cad9d9da8-2048x1352.webp 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div><div><figcaption>American flags flying near the US Capitol Building on March 10, 2026.<\/figcaption> <cite>Al Drago\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div><p>How would you grade America\u2019s first 250 years?<\/p><p>That\u2019s the question I posed to historian and professor Heather Cox Richardson on this week\u2019s episode of<em> America, Actually<\/em> \u2014 and a question I pose to myself.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/americanlivingreport.com\/?p=564\">The best thing about Love Island USA this summer is the\u2026friendships?<\/a><\/p>Read Article &gt;<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/section><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>America 250: Explore Vox\u2019s coverage of US history, national identity, politics, and the biggest questions shaping the country\u2019s future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":569,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>America at 250: Who are we, anyway? 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