The bizarre idea that COVID-19 can be defeated through manliness is one of the stranger cultural themes of our time, but it connects to a long history of anxiety about masculinity in a changing America that encourages violent and even self-destructive actions in the name of proving virility.
There are several provisions in the Constitution that could allow Donald Trump, with the help of friendly courts, to hold power against the will of the electorate.
Joe Biden's speech evoked the calls for unity and shared purpose made by presidents from Lincoln to FDR to Obama. The coming weeks will tell if voters embrace the message.
Intended as a tool to circumvent the power of big business in the state legislature, California's ballot initiative process has become yet another channel for the political influence of big money.
We usually parse Dred Scott v. Sandford as the Worst Decision Ever, but it also offers an overlooked political lesson. The Court waded into a high partisan battle and badly damaged the institutions behind the ruling.
Whether they knew it at the time, the wounded servicemen the author met at the 3rd Field Hospital outside of Saigon were the spirit of America. Winners all, they were not then suckers, losers, fools or mugs.
"The fact that Americans have not always lived up fully to that Enlightenment universalism, or that ethnicity has often gotten bloodily in the way of it, merely shows that we are human, not that it is wrong."
American institiutions are threatened with transformation into unrecognizable and undemocratic forms; stopping these changes means holding on to a collective sense of national purpose in the face of misinformation and gaslighting.
The incident that became known as the Boston Massacre didn't have to happen, and didn't have to become a flashpoint for violence after. As political tensions break into violence today, it's worthwhile to think about Boston in 1770.
September marked the 2,500th anniversary of the Battle of Salamis, where the Greeks won a surprising naval victory over Persian forces, thwarted their efforts to conquer Greece, and set the stage for the golden age of Athenian civilization.
The South African National Party won a parliamentary victory in 1948 and consolidated power quickly to institutionalize Apartheid and focus national politics on racial issues. This surprise turned into a half-century of hard right rule and stands as a warning to Americans today.
Digitization projects have made historical newspapers much more readily accessible, but the process admits error and historians should be cautious making bold claims based on them.
As the new 1776 Commission begins to consider how to wield history as a weapon against indoctrination, America’s educational work in Germany can serve as a guidepost for a commitment to preparing vigilant young men and women to build and defend democracy.
A founding member of the Commission on Presidential Debates argues that the body must take stock of its rules and procedures after Tuesday's debacle or risk irrelevance.
