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- [00:07]
Heather Cox Richardson
March 31, 2025. On April 1, 1861, Secretary of State William Henry Seward wrote an astonishing letter to President Abraham Lincoln less than a month after Lincoln had taken office. Seward had little faith in the apparently uneducated president from the raw west and was angry that the Cabinet had overruled him to provision South Carolina's Fort Sum rather than evacuating it. Seward was convinced that he, rather than Lincoln, should lead the administration. Seward complained that Lincoln had not yet established a policy, either domestic or foreign, and said he had figured out the solution to the nation's political crisis in which seven states South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas had seceded from the Union in the weeks after Lincoln was elected president but before he took office. We must, Seward wrote, change the question before the public from one upon slavery or about slavery for a question upon Union or disunion. The way to do that, he wrote, was to rally Americans around the flag. To do so, he told Lincoln, I would demand explanations from Spain and France categorically at once. I would seek explanations from Great Britain and Russia and send agents into Canada, Mexico and Central America to rouse a vigorous continental spirit of independence on this continent against European intervention and if satisfactory explanations are not received from Spain and France, would convene Congress and declare war against them. Modestly, Seward concluded, either the president must do it himself or devolve it upon some member of his cabinet. It is not in my especial province, but I seek neither to evade nor assume responsibility. In other words, Seward proposed taking charge of the US Government from the elected president and then bringing Americans together by starting a war with Spain, France, Great Britain or Russia. Who was on the other side really didn't matter. A crisis could be created with any of them. The point was to quell dissent at home by turning Americans against another country. Lincoln spoke directly to Seward about his letter and then dropped the matter, leaving the Secretary of State's preposterous suggestion on the floor. Like the lead balloon it was, the two went on to forge a strong relationship, with Lincoln as the head of the administration and without starting a war with another country. But Seward's missive demonstrated a historical truism. When one country invades another, it usually reflects the problems of the invaders. Domestic politics no matter what the justification for the invasion is. Although President Donald Trump never mentioned taking over Greenland or Canada or Panama or Mexico during the 2024 campaign, he has made such takeovers a key objective of his administration. On March 6, Trump addressed the incredible people of Greenland during a joint session of Congress, telling them that the US Needs Greenland for national security and even international security. And I think we're going to get it. One way or the other, we're going to get it. On March 29, Trump told Kristen Welker of NBC News, we'll get Greenland, yeah, 100%. He said that there's a good possibility that we could do it without military force, but that I don't take anything off the table. On Friday, Vice President J.D. vance led a delegation to Greenland, an island of about 56,000 people that is a semi autonomous territory of Denmark. As founding members of both the United nations in 1945 and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO in 1949, Denmark and the United States are allies of long standing. Immediately after World War II, the American military maintained 17 bases and installations in Greenland with thousands of soldiers. But now it maintains only the Bitufik space base on Greenland's northwest coast with about 200 soldiers. It was there that Vance landed with his wife, as well as disgraced National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, and Senator Mike Lee, a Republican of Utah. On Friday, after Greenlanders and Danes opposed a more extended itinerary, Vance told Denmark it had underinvested in the people of Greenland and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass filled with incredible people. That has to change. Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen dismissed Vance's assertion, saying that Denmark is a good and strong ally. Danish Foreign Minister Loka Rasmussen noted that a 1951 agreement between the US and Denmark offers ample opportunity for the United States to have a much stronger military presence in Greenland. If that is what you wish, then let's discuss it. Greenland sits between the United States, Europe and Russia on the Arctic Circle, where melting ice is making the seas more navigable. Climate change also offers access to Greenland's rare earth minerals that are of strategic importance for modern economies, as well as oil and gas reserves. The Trump regime wants those resources. But perhaps even more to the point, the US Invading another country, any other country, but particularly an ally, demolishes a key founding principle of the post World War II orders that countries will respect each other's borders and sovereignty. In seizing Greenland from Denmark, the US Would justify Russia's seizure of Ukrainian territory that the United States is even talking about. This is bonkers. Leaders from Greenland and Denmark have said the island is not for sale. National security scholar Tom Nichols posted. The President of the United States just implied he would use force against an ally in an unprovoked war of aggression, and the entire world is so used to ignoring him like a crazy grandpa in the attic that it's not the biggest story on the planet. A Fox News poll conducted from March 14 to March 17 shows that only 26% of Americans like the idea of taking over Greenland. Americans also aren't keen about the regime sweeping up legal U.S. residents in its deportation programs. A CBS News YouGov survey from March 27 through 28 showed that 71% of Americans thought it was not acceptable for immigration authorities to mistakenly detain legal US Residents as part of the regime's larger deportation program, while only 29% thought it would be acceptable. And yet today, Nick Miroff of the Atlantic reported that the Trump administration attorneys admitted in a court filing that officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement had seized and deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia by accident. Abrego Garcia fled gang threats in El Salvador when he was 16 and came to the US he has no criminal record, works full time as a union sheet metal apprentice, is married to an American citizen, and is the father of a disabled US Citizen. He had been granted legal protected status from return to El Salvador after a judge found he was likely to be targeted by gangs if he was sent back. The U.S. government did not charge Abrego Garcia with a crime, but deported him to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement center, or cecot, because of an administrative error. This was an oversight, the government told the court. But because he is no longer in US custody, the government said it is beyond the reach of US Courts to get him back. Abrego Garcia's attorney, Simon Sandoval Moshenburg, told Miroff he had never seen a case where the government ignored protective legal status and deported someone. They claim that the court is powerless to order any relief, he told Miroff. If that's true, the immigration laws are meaningless, all of them, because the government can deport whoever they want, wherever they want, whenever they want, and no court can do anything about it once it's done. Tomorrow, voters will have a chance to weigh in on the government when elections take place in two Florida districts to fill seats vacated by the resignations of Mike Waltz, now national security advisor, and Matt Gaetz. Wisconsin, too, will hold an election for a 10 year term on the state Supreme Court. That position will likely determine whether Wisconsin's congressional maps remain gerrymandered in favor of Republicans, permitting them to pick up more seats than they have earned. Such skewing has made it possible for Republicans to retain control of the House of Representatives, and candidate Susan Crawford is likely to vote in favor of Fair Maps to replace the gerrymandered ones. While it is supposed to be a nonpartisan election, President Trump has thrown his weight behind candidate Brad Schimmel. Billionaire Elon Musk has thrown his checkbook, putting almost $20 million behind Schimmel. On Sunday, Musk traveled to Wisconsin, where he said the election could determine the future of America and Western civilization, warning that a court with Crawford on it would redraw the gerrymander districts and add seats for Democrats. On Sunday, Musk gave away two checks for a million dollars each to individuals who attended his rally for Schimmel and signed a petition against activist judges. Musk got around the Wisconsin law against exchanging an item of value to get someone to vote or not to vote by claiming the checks were for spokesperson agreements. But the video recorded by one of the recipients linked her vote to Musk's check, saying, I did exactly what Elon Musk told everyone to do sign the petition, refer friends and family, vote, and now I have a million dollars. The other check for a million dollars went to the chair of the Wisconsin College Republicans, who has worked for Republican campaigns. Let me talk for a minute or two about my opponent, elon Musk, crawford told supporters on Monday. She announced her candidacy for the race before Trump was elected, and according to Scott Bauer of the Associated Press, she said she never imagined she would be fighting against the richest man in the world. Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wickler said he thought people do not want to see Elon Musk buying election after election after election. If it works here, he's going to do it all over the country. Meanwhile, Senator Cory Booker, a Democrat of New Jersey, has been speaking on the floor of the Senate since 7:00 tonight because he said, I believe sincerely that our country is in crisis. These are not normal times in America and they should not be treated as such in the United States. Senior.
- [12:14]
Michael Moss
Letters from an American was written and read by Heather Cox Richardson. It was produced at Soundscape Productions, Dedham, MA. Recorded with music composed by Michael Moss.