Readers Respond to the Summer 2026 Issue

I commend your decision to profile Margaret Fuller (“A Woman’s Guide to Self-Reliance,” Summer 2026). Her exhortation to men to “remove arbitrary barriers” was way ahead of her time and rings true even today, more than 150 years later. —Laura Bray | Boerne, Texas Without question, the Summer 2026 issue is the very best, or GOAT, edition of Smithsonian! I read it cover to cover and was impressed by every component.

I learned new and fascinating facts with nearly every page, beginning with the revelatory piece on Thomas Paine (“A Republic in the Stars”) and continuing through “The Last Word.” —Vandy Bradow | Durham, North Carolina Thank you for the treasure that is this magazine. I look forward to every issue. Every piece is informative, inspirational, beautifully written.

The contents of Smithsonian truly expand understanding, knowledge and awareness of themes highlighting our country as well as the wider world, past and present. —Mimi Brodsky Chenfeld | Columbus, Ohio Congratulations on the “America at 250” issue! I relished reading every page, and I came away with a much deeper appreciation for what the United States has created, is, and promises. —David Boulé | Torrance, California Richard Norton Smith’s article “Woodrow Wilson’s Daring Home Front” (Summer 2026) was a virtual hagiography of a most undeserving individual. Smith praised Wilson for his various strengths and gave but a glancing series of minor comments as to his very substantial shortcomings.

He virtually ignored the overt racial bigotry of Wilson, a fault that set back racial progress in our country at least a generation. He totally ignored Wilson’s blocking of women’s suffrage, which Wilson finally reluctantly accepted when he had no choice. Smith barely even obliquely referenced the nefarious Sedition Act of 1918, which ranks among the worst violations of civil liberties our country has ever had. —Kalman Barson | Somerville, New Jersey I was pleased to see a piece on Sequoyah (“A New Kind of Writing,” Summer 2026), who created a writing system and taught the majority of his tribe to write and read Cherokee.

Soon the Cherokee newspaper appeared in both English and Cherokee, helping unify the Cherokee in a time of distress. The Cherokee Phoenix continues publishing in both writing systems. —Karen Coody Cooper | Tahlequah, Oklahoma This article is a selection from the September/October 2026 issue of Smithsonian magazine