The Roundup Top Ten for October 30, 2020
Amy Coney Barrett’s Judicial Philosophy Doesn’t Hold Up to Scrutinyby Angus King and Heather Cox Richardson"To put it bluntly, the whole premise of originalism is nonsense in that it pretends to make the work of the Supreme Court look straightforward and mechanical, like 'calling balls and strikes,' in Justice John Roberts’s famous phase." |
How to Steal an Electionby Jon GrinspanMany of our election rules date from that moment, around 1900, when Americans redirected their “love of smart dealings” toward tightening up electoral systems, rather than finding ways around them. |
Sanctuary Unmasked: The First Time Los Angeles (Sort of) Became a City of Refugeby Paul A. KramerLos Angeles’s first sanctuary law grew out of the refugee wave that had brought Alicia Rivera to the city. By 1982, an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 refugees from El Salvador and tens of thousands of Guatemalans had fled to the United States to escape murder, poverty, and starvation. |
Voter Suppression and Racial Terrorism, the Twin Pillars of White Supremacyby Ben RailtonVoter suppression has consistently gone hand in hand with racial terrorism to prop up white supremacy. |
Why Do We Think Learning About History Can Make Us Better?by Priya SatiaWhile historians view their discipline as empirical and secular, its practice has typically enfolded a religious or quasi-religious effort to integrate human action and stories of moral necessity. |
This is the Biggest Election in 160 Yearsby Manisha Sinha"The one underlying commonality that binds these two historic presidential elections is the conviction that it is American democracy -- rather than just opposing presidential candidates -- that is on the ballot." |
Election Dread: David Duke, Halloween, and Premonitions of Our Political Momentby Joe Lowndes"There is a straight line from Buchanan to Trump, or rather from Duke to Trump, that stretches back to the fall of 1991, and before." |
Amy Coney Barrett’s Philosophy Has Far Worse Roots Than Most Americans Knowby Simon GilhooleyAt the core of originalism is a fundamentally conservative effort to limit the possibilities of our constitutional order to the imagination of historical figures from the 18th century, which included racial hierarchy and support for chattel slavery. |
The Power of Black Women That Led to Kamala Harris' Nod for VPby Martha S. JonesShut out from the white-led suffrage movement by the beginning of the 20th century, Black women built their own political movement. |
Pr*cks in Public: A Microhistoryby Gillian FrankThe recent controversy over a prominent writer's exposure on Zoom is part of a story of white men’s power to sexualize and control workplaces and public space through these same actions. |