political history

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• 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.

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• 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. 

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• 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.

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• 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."

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• 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. 

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• 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.

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• 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."

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• SOURCE: Politico Magazine
  2/24/19
  

  The Lost History of FDR's Court Packing Scandal

  Some Democrats are talking about adding justices to the bench. But the revelations show almost no one understands what really happened back in the 1930s. 

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• SOURCE: Time
  2/21/19
  

  How the Republican Response to the Mueller Investigation Breaks With History

  Historians say this marks a new era of hyperpartisanship that will likely erode trust in traditionally independent law enforcement agencies.  

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  2/20/19
  

  Trump keeps warning of a coup. But the only one in American history was a bloody, racist uprising.

  Alfred Moore Waddell became the mayor of Wilmington, N.C., in November 1898 after leading the only successful coup on U.S. soil. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  2/16/19
  

  The lengthy history of white politicians wearing blackface — and getting a pass

  The history of blackface in American politics is wide and deep, frequently creating little more than a ripple of outrage for the mayors, state legislators and gubernatorial candidates caught on camera darkening their skin and caricaturing black people.

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• SOURCE: Politico Magazine
  2/13/19
  

  The Dark History of Anti-Gay Innuendo

  by James Kirchick

  The accusation that Lindsay Graham is susceptible to blackmail is historically groundless, predicated upon the same flawed assumption most people held about gays at the height of the Cold War: that they would commit treason in order to avoid being outed.  

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  2/13/19
  

  Christian student challenged a school history lesson on Islam and lost in court

  As a high school junior, Caleigh Wood refused to complete a history lesson on “The Muslim World” that she said forced her to embrace Islam in conflict with her Christian faith — and the Constitution.

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• SOURCE: Jezebel
  2/11/19
  

  Historian Kathryn Olmstead on The Long History of the Red Scare as an American Political Tactic

  "It had such a broad and long-lasting impact on American politics that it’s just impossible to overstate."  

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• SOURCE: Boston Globe
  2/11/19
  

  The Democrats’ dilemma: two parties in one

  by Niall Ferguson

  In their eagerness to recruit a new generation of young voters, the Democrats have — not for the first time in their history — admitted a faction of radical ideologues into their midst.