Sinclair Lewis’s It Can’t Happen Here reminds us that the U.S. can never be insulated from politicians who thrive on populist rage in pursuit of power.
Politics & Economics
The Kennedy Legacy: The Assassination and Historical Memory
Americans tend to rank Kennedy high in terms of greatness. But many historians see his presidency as overrated. What accounts for the mismatch?
Heading into Nut Country: Ted Dealey and JFK
In the 1940s, after Ted Dealey assumed control of the paper from his father, the Dallas Morning News swung strongly to the Right.
The 3/5ths Clause and Indian Removal
Southern representatives wielded the clause’s power to spread slavery and protect their interests, including the devastating Indian Removal Act of 1830.
The Problem with Experience: Do Career Politicians Make Good Presidents?
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to predicting who will make a “great” president.
Birthright Citizenship: A Contested History
Denouncing the legal and Constitutional concept of birthright citizenship is a stunning reverse in a longstanding debate.
Bernie Sanders, Eugene Debs, and American Inequality
The newfound appeal of Sanders’s economic populism recalls the last time a socialist candidate for president had even modest success.
Slumming It
A 2013 Seattle tour promised customers the opportunity to be “injected into homeless culture” – for only $2000. But this isn’t the first example of “slumming.”
“Sacred ties existing between parent and child”: Citizenship, Family, and Immigrant Parents
Inclusion and humanitarianism used to be part of the immigration policy of the United States.
“A Certain Fatality”: Robert Todd Lincoln and Presidential Assassinations
Few people know much about the younger Lincoln today, and what many think they know is incorrect. Lincoln was not present at three assassinations, though he was closely connected to them.