political polarization

"Hands Off Until He Was Safe Over": David Reynolds Urges Biden to Look to Lincoln

by James Thornton Harris

Historian David S. Reynolds recently published Abe: Abraham Lincoln and his Times, a cultural biography that shows how the 16th president was shaped by the many social currents swirling in the young United States.

Teaching in the Age of Disinformation

Despite many professors' confidence in their ability to foster discussion of controversial subjects, studies suggest avoidance is a much more common approach. Historian of political rhetoric Jennifer Mercieca works to make students more direct and purposeful consumers of news. 

Why the Odds Are Good that Biden Can Reduce Our Political Polarization

by Walter G. Moss

A recent HNN essay took a pessimistic view of President-Elect Biden's ability to govern a polarized nation. Walter Moss takes a longer view and finds more cause for optimism. 

War Zone America? Perspectives on a Riven Nation from a Worried Military Spouse

by Andrea Mazzarino

These days, when I watch the news and see clashes among the police, Black Lives Matter protesters, far-right “militias,” and Antifa supporters, I’m often reminded that just because no one’s declared a civil war begun, doesn’t mean we aren’t staring at the makings of an armed conflict.

Is ‘Human Identity Politics’ the Solution to Polarization?

A new book by Ezra Klein argues that American polarization results from the collision of early humanity's tribal tendencies with a realignment of group identities over the last 50 years. Does he ignore the special role of the conservative movement in driving polarization?

Deep Political Fissures May Worsen the Coronavirus Outbreak

by Jordan E. Taylor

During a massive outbreak of yellow fever in the nation’s then-capital city, Philadelphia, members of the earliest parties in the United States took advantage of medical uncertainty to advance partisan agendas.

Lessons on political polarization from Lincoln’s ‘House Divided’ speech, 160 years later

by Bradford Vivian

The idea that America is politically polarized isn’t new.

The Internet is the new Wheel of Fortune

by Niall Ferguson

Social media has democratized politics, but it can kill an individual's reputation in a nanosecond.