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Jacksonian democracy

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Donald Trump in the Oval Office, with a portrait of Andrew Jackson in the background.

The Man Who Put Andrew Jackson in Trump’s Oval Office

Historian Walter Russell Mead has become the favorite Trump whisperer for everyone from Steve Bannon to Tom Cotton.
by Susan B. Glasser via Politico Magazine on January 22, 2018

The Two Andrew Jacksons

Jacksonian democracy may have been liberating for some, but it was repressive for many others.
by Michael Kazin via The Nation on August 10, 2017
Jackson statue outside the White House.

Trump's Jacksonian Moment

A new biography of Andrew Jackson recounts a bloody history, and reveals disturbing parallels between the 1830s and the Trump era.
by Richard White via Boston Review on June 7, 2017

Donald Trump Sees Himself in Andrew Jackson. They Deserve Each Other.

The president deserves the Jackson legacy, but not for the reasons he'd like.
by Jamelle Bouie via Slate on March 15, 2017
Davy Crockett monument in Texas.

The Political Example of Davy Crockett

As a congressman, Davy Crockett found ways to navigate populist upheaval and maintain his own independence.
by Miles Smith IV via Law & Liberty on November 12, 2024
Painting of "The County Election" by George Caleb Bingham.

The Myth of American Individualism

How the utopian notion of the U.S. as a meritocracy became so ingrained in the American psyche.
by Eric C. Miller, Alex Zakaras via Arc: Religion, Politics, Et Cetera on February 21, 2023
Blue and red donkey logo of the Democratic Party.

Hope in the Desert: Democratic Party Blues

In 'What It Took to Win,' Michael Kazin traces the history over the past two centuries of what he calls ‘the oldest mass party in the world’.
by Eric Foner via London Review of Books on May 4, 2022
FDR with eyes crossed out with red line

Is It Time to Cancel FDR?

Today’s progressives are children of the old Republican Party, not the New Deal Democrats. Roosevelt and his followers stood for nearly everything they oppose.
by Michael Lind via Tablet on April 11, 2021
Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson: Our First Populist President

He never denounced slavery and was brutal towards American Indians, but remains a popular figure. Why?
by Jeff Taylor via The American Conservative on February 8, 2019
A rally and march in New York City demanding that every vote be counted in the general election, despite Trump’s premature claim of victory, on November 4, 2020.

Defend Liberalism? Let’s Fight for Democracy First

America never really was liberal, and that’s not the right fight anyway. The fight now is for democracy.
by Jefferson Cowie via The New Republic on June 21, 2024
Image of Preston Brooks pummeling Charles Sumner with a cane in 1856 and a Trump supporter on January 6th, 2021.

The Illiberalism at America’s Core

A new history argues that illiberalism is not a backlash but a central feature from the founding to today.
by Julian E. Zelizer via The New Republic on May 2, 2024
A skeleton woman in a black dress floating in a cemetery.

The Elusive, Maddening Mystery of the Bell Witch

A classic ghost story has something to say about America—200 years ago, 100 years ago, and today.
by Colin Dickey via Atlas Obscura on May 2, 2023
Illustration of Andrew Jackson’s cheese surrounded by snackers

The Snack That Took Over the White House

The story of President Andrew Jackson's 1,400-pound block of cheese.
by Doug Mack via Snack Stack on January 6, 2022

The Most Fascinating Riot You've Never Heard Of

The Astor Place Opera House Riot of 1849 combined two of 19th-century America’s favorite pastimes: going to the theater and rioting.
by John Ganz via The Outline on February 11, 2020
QAnon sign in a crowd of Trump supporters at a DeSantis rally.
partner

Why Americans Turn to Conspiracy Theories

Conspiracy theories have been a central feature in American politics since before the Revolution.
by Rachel Hope Cleves via Made By History on October 21, 2019
Political cartoon of Jackson slaying a many-headed hydra of politicians.

When American Politicos First Weaponized Conspiracy Theories

Outlandish rumors helped elect Presidents Jackson and Van Buren and have been with us ever since.
by Mark R. Cheathem via What It Means to Be American on March 28, 2019

America Descends Into the Politics of Rage

Trump and other peddlers of angry rhetoric may reap short-term gains, but history suggests they will provoke a fearsome backlash.
by Joanne B. Freeman via The Atlantic on October 22, 2018

Today’s Voter Suppression Tactics Have A 150 Year History

Rebels in the post-Civil War South perfected the art of excluding voters, but it was yankees in the North who developed the script.
by Gregory P. Downs via Talking Points Memo on July 26, 2018

Why Do We Salute Volunteer Soldiers but Scorn Professional Warriors?

Since the Mexican-American War, Army regulars haven't always been treated as heroes.
by Peter Guardino via Zócalo Public Square on January 5, 2018

Samuel Huntington, a Prophet for the Trump Era

The writings of the late Harvard political scientist anticipate America's political and intellectual battles -- and point to the country we may become.
by Carlos Lozada via Washington Post on July 18, 2017
Mitch McConnell
partner

Partisanship is an American Tradition — And Good for Democracy

Bipartisanship is the exception, not the rule.
by Aaron Astor via Made By History on July 12, 2017
Soldiers with arms and fortifications in a street in Bolivia.

Our Fellow American Revolutionaries

When residents of the U.S. came to see Latin Americans as partners in a shared revolutionary experiment.
by Caitlin Fitz, Timothy Shenk via Dissent on June 30, 2016

The Manly Sport of American Politics

19th-century Americans abandoned the English phrasing of "standing" for election and begin to describe candidates who "run" for office. The race was on.
by Kenneth Cohen via Commonplace on April 1, 2012
Senator Joseph R. McCarthy speaking

The Paranoid Style in American Politics

It had been around a long time before the Radical Right discovered it.
by Richard Hofstadter via Harper's on November 1, 1964

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