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Comparing the Modern Tea Party to the Original

by Barbara Smith

In light of the recent anniversary of the original Tea Party, shouldn’t we consult history to clarify what the Boston brouhaha of 1773 was really about? Here are some things we would do well to remember today:There was little that was “conservative” about the event. A mob seized and destroyed private property. Conservative interests at the time deplored it, and the respectable descendants of the Revolutionary generation did their best to forget it when they wrote up their official accounts of the Revolution.

The Much Maligned Twentieth Amendment

by Donald A. Ritchie

The 111th Congress began in January 2009 amid complaints about the long wait for the inauguration of the new president, and ended amid complaints abo

How the Color Line Caused a 100-Year Break in Football between Iowa and Missouri

by Gregory Bond

The University of Iowa will face the University of Missouri in the 2010 Insight.com Bowl in Tempe, Arizona on Tuesday, December 28th. Many news outlets have reported that this will be the first meeting between the Tigers and the Hawkeyes since 1910, but what has gone unmentioned in these stories is the reason for that 100-year gap in this once heated rivalry: Archie Alexander.“Alexander will not be allowed to play against Missouri,” the Daily Iowan, the student news

The Real Story of the White Citizens' Council

by James C. Cobb

Although the term "historical revisionist” seems to have been co-opted these days by committed right-wingers who typically reserve it for liberals who refuse to adhere to the true and sacred American narrative according to L

The Words That Mattered in 2010

by Ian C. Friedman

Like other years, 2010 can be understood by examining its most memorable and meaningful quotations. The year almost-past appears distinctive for its well-placed profanity (though, surprisingly, none of it from Rahm Emmanuel) and for words that mattered in war, society, sports, and politics. Here are ten quotes from 2010—in chronological order—that best reflect what happened and what it meant.“It comes down to integrity.” —Admiral Mike Mullen, February 2

The "Golden Rule" Will Sail Again

by Lawrence S. Wittner

The "Golden Rule," the legendary 30-foot ketch that once terrified U.S. government officials, will return to the seas again this coming su

Zealous Moderates: Barack Obama and William Howard Taft

by Kenneth Weisbrode

Every season brings a new round of presidential analogies and comparisons.  Two years into his presidency, Barack Obama has already seen his share.  Supporters have compared him to Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and even Dwight D. Eisenhower.  Opponents have latched on to Jimmy Carter and Woodrow Wilson. Obama himself has invoked Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush as important role models. But there's one president whose nam

Does the Commerce Clause Mean Health Care is Unconstitutional?

by Anders Walker

On December 13, 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Henry Hudson ruled that requiring citizens to purchase health insurance is unconstitutional.  Though two other f

The Military at a Crossroads Again

by Maria Höhn and Martin Klimke

The ongoing debate on the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy (DADT) brings to mind the debate on integrating the military some seventy years ago.  In many ways that debat

For God or for Fame? The Making of a Teenage Bomber

by Kambiz GhaneaBassiri

On November 26, Mohamed Mohamud was arrested for allegedly attempting to trigger a bomb at a crowded Christmas tree lighting ceremony in downtown Portland, Or

Channelling George Washington: The Presidency Imperiled?

by Thomas Fleming

“I haven’t been this upset in a century.”“What’s troubling you, Mr. President?”“The White House news that I—and millions of Americans—watched on TV and read about in the papers.  It’s prompted

Channelling George Washington: The Return of the Anti-Federalists

by Thomas Fleming

“What do you think of the 2010 elections?”I sensed a wry humor in our first president’s voice. “I get the feeling you’ve already formed an opinion.”“Of course.  I always enjoy elections.  It’s

The Internet Changes Nothing

by Marshall Poe

In 1998, during the Age of Irrational Exuberance, I made my first website.  It was a collection of online history links, a site that students of history everywhere might profit by.  And for a time they did.  Hundr

Justice Kennedy and the Future of Same-Sex Marriage

by Marc Stein

If and when the California same-sex marriage case (or a similar case) reaches the U.S. Supreme Court, the results may well depend on Justice Anthony Kennedy,

The Obama Fiscal Commission’s Preliminary “Report”

by Larry DeWitt

In 1983 Ronald Reagan signed into law the last comprehensive reform of the Social Security program.  This was an improbable event, forced upon the political system by the exigencies of the time.  Many commentators have point

More Effective Government Would Neutralize Tea Party

by Colin Gordon

What do historians make of the Tea Party movement?  Certainly, popular outrage at political and economic elites is nothing new.  The Tea Party shares common elements with the populist outbursts of the 1890s and the 1930s&mdas

2010 vs. 1938—Obama and FDR

by Burton Folsom

“I don’t believe that generations which so far haven’t a chance to vote or to get born should be paying off our headaches.”  Thus spoke Robert Doughton, chairman of t

Party Like It's 1892!

by Steven Conn

After these mid-term elections, the Tea Party populists are claiming victory.  Their anger and insurgency fired up the conservative base, and the base turned out, giving Republicans control of the House and victories in state and local races across the land.  Many pundits are comparing this election to the election of 1994, when anger at Bill Clinton gave Republicans control of Congress. Like all analogies, this one isn't perfect.  But if it fits at all, it does not porte

Obama 2.0 Must Lead from the Center Humbly and Substantively

by Gil Troy

The American voters gave President Barack Obama a good, old-fashioned political whupping on Tuesday.  It was a stunning political reversal as Mr

What Did Jefferson Mean By "Wall of Separation"?

by Thomas S. Kidd

The media cannot seem to get enough of Delaware’s Republican Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell.  For better or worse, she embodies an energized popu