March 21, 2026 On March 21, 1861 Senator Alexander Stephens delivered his Cornerstone Speech, In the Cornerstone Speech he described a Confederate government based on racial enslavement, Stephens expected the new doctrine of the Confederacy to spread around the world, Abraham Lincoln rejected the Confederacy’s doctrine, and as president, declared enslaved Americans to be free, It would take the passing of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to enshrine the principles of the Declaration of Independence in the Constitution, Tearing apart old political systems permitted the rise of new ones built on a clearer view of the meaning of the United States. Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ- Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe You can also find me: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe