political history

• 
• SOURCE: The Conversation
  4/17/19
  

  Abraham Lincoln, Joe Biden and the politics of touch

  by Mark M. Smith

  No one was better at tactile politics than Abraham Lincoln.

• 
• SOURCE: Process History
  4/16/19
  

  Gale Kenny on the Womens March, Church Ladies, and Grassroots Political Religion

  by Gale Kenny

  The Women’s March and related activism are similar to the 20th century political organizing of the United Council of Church Women.

• 
• 4/14/19
  

  Health Care for All – A Cautionary Tale from the 1970s

  by Richard Moe

  If the ultimate goal is to expand affordable health care to every American, Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy offer important lessons.

• 
• 4/14/19
  

  President Donald Trump, HIV/AIDS, and Black Lesbian and Gay Activism

  by Darius Bost

  Trump’s plan to end AIDS within this decade came as a surprise given his history with communities most impacted by HIV/AIDS.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  3/28/19
  

  Want to unify the country? A community organizer and a Klan leader showed us how.

  by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

  In the midst of the identity crisis we face as a nation, the organizing tradition that Ann Atwater embodied is the strong medicine we need.

• 
• SOURCE: NY Times
  3/30/19
  

  50 Years of Affirmative Action: What Went Right, and What It Got Wrong

  A look back through the decades shows what went right in the early years of affirmative action in college admissions, but also what can go wrong even with the best of intentions.

• 
• SOURCE: Vox
  4/1/19
  

  Which parts of the US Constitution have aged least well?

  by Jennifer Victor

  Jennifer Victor explains two of the biggest mistakes baked into US government from the start: slavery and suffrage.

• 
• SOURCE: Time
  3/27/19
  

  American History Has Some Lessons for the Next Phase of the Mueller Investigation

  “There are plenty of cautionary tales strewn throughout the history of American special prosecutors,” says Andrew Coan.

• 
• 3/24/19
  

  Political Leadership and the Need for a New American Story

  by Walter G. Moss

  Both Lincoln and FDR understood that to reach people, to motivate them, to win them over, a president had to appeal to their emotions, and storytelling was one way of doing so.

• 
• 3/17/19
  

  History Will Clash With History in the 2020 Election

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  Three different historical precedents all suggest a different outcome in 2020. 

• 
• SOURCE: Seattle Times
  3/8/19
  

  The Constitution must be our ‘political religion’: Remembering Lincoln’s words

  by Eli Merritt

  President Lincoln's words remind us that to survive as a democracy we must transcend our racial, religious, regional and party affiliations, and embrace the Constitution and the rule of law.

• 
• SOURCE: WBUR
  3/7/19
  

  Historians Nathan Connolly and Ed Ayers Give A History Of "Socialism" As A Scare Tactic In American Politics

  “Before it really became a dirty word, it became a very popular word."

• 
• 3/10/19
  

  Three Unexpected Deaths That Shaped Presidential History

  by Ronald L. Feinman

  Unexpected tragedy in the lives of three political leaders—John F. Kennedy, Jr., Paul Wellstone, and Joe Biden—demonstrate the profound impact of chance on political history. 

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  2/27/19
  

  Centrism and moderation? No thanks.

  by April Holm

  In times of moral crisis, everyone picks a side — even those proclaiming neutrality.

• 
• 3/3/19
  

  The Entangled History of “America First” and “The American Dream"

  by James Thornton Harris

  Sarah Churchwell unravels the complicated history behind “America First” in her new book Behold America. 

• 
• 3/3/19
  

  Is Bernie Sanders Actually A Democratic Socialist?

  by Michael Sheng

  "For the sake of history, please tell your voters what you really believe, and don’t just throw out a label without a precise definition."

• 
• 3/10/19
  

  The Most Alarming Argument in Jill Lepore's These Truths

  by Walter G. Moss

  How technology has destablized our world and why there's still hope. 

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  2/24/19
  

  History will mark how many Republicans shy from Trump’s extremism

  by E.J. Dionne Jr.

  It’s not too much to say that history will notice how many Republicans choose to separate themselves from Trump’s extremism.

• 
• SOURCE: Washington Post
  2/26/19
  

  George Washington’s lesson for Trump’s America

  by Marc Aronson

  Principles, not a thirst for power, must guide our leaders.

• 
• SOURCE: CNN
  2/26/19
  

  A high school government class wanted to help solve civil rights crimes. So they drafted a bill that is now law

  It began as an effort to make government more transparent.