Election of 2024 — Bunk History

John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson.

A Trump-Biden Tie Would Be a Political Nightmare — But Maybe a Boon to Democracy

The political upheaval of 1824 changed America. The same could happen in 2024.

by Joshua Zeitz via Politico on May 16, 2024

The Echoes of 1800 in the 2024 Election

This year’s momentous vote strangely resembles one of the most consequential elections in American history.

by Lindsay M. Chervinsky via The Bulwark on November 4, 2024

A drawing of a skeletal hand erupting from the ground and separating a house with a Harris/Walz sign and a house with a Trump/Vance sign. Face masks float in the wind.

There’s a Very Specific Issue Haunting This Election. No One Is Talking About It.

You can bury it. But you can’t escape it.

by Grady Hendrix via Slate on October 31, 2024

Followers salute Trump at his rally in Madison Square Garden.

Trump in the Garden

Eight years into the fascism debate, few skeptics seem to be willing to admit that they were wrong.

by Patrick Iber via Dissent on October 29, 2024

Campaign signs.

The Long History of the 'October Surprise'

Last minute disclosures or revelations can play an outsized role in the last weeks before an election.

by Robert B. Mitchell via Made By History on October 24, 2024

Taylor Swift's Instagram post endorsing Kamala Harris. Swift is holding a cat and facing the camera, dressed in black.

Taylor Swift and the History of the Celebrity Endorsement

Do pop culture interventions in presidential elections make a difference?

by Addie Mahmassani via New Lines Magazine on October 23, 2024

Donald Trump

Donald Trump Would Be Weaker the Second Time Around

Donald Trump wants the ideology of William McKinley and Gilded Age Republicanism, but with a totally different social base. It won’t work.

by Paul Heidman via Jacobin on October 23, 2024

Haitan commuinty members bowing their heads in prayer.

The Coming Witch Trials

It’s time to care for the community—not cleanse it.

by Adam Jortner via Current (religion and democracy) on October 22, 2024

Harris carved in stone next to Mount Rushmore.

Kamala Harris Must Grapple with America’s Founding Fathers

To achieve a new political settlement, she has to resolve a tension dating from the Revolution.

by Justin H. Vassallo via New Statesman on October 12, 2024

Harris on a tv screen.

TV Still Runs Politics

Just about every major development in the current presidential campaign started as a television event.

by Paul Farhi via The Atlantic on August 22, 2024

A collage of the cover and various pages of the Walker Report.

How the 1968 DNC Devolved into ‘Unrestrained and Indiscriminate Police Violence’

As protesters prepare for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, a half-century old report provides lessons for preventing chaos.

by Lakeidra Chavis via The Marshall Project on August 14, 2024

What It Means to ‘Willie Horton’ a Political Candidate

Donald Trump supporters run their version of the original dog-whistle attack ad against Kamala Harris. Here’s the history.

by Beth Schwartzapfel via The Marshall Project on July 31, 2024

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris standing behind President Joe Biden, who is giving a speech at podium.

How Democrats Gave Away Their Ability to Pick a New Nominee

Until the late 1960s, the Democratic Party could have simply anointed a replacement for President Biden. Now it's not so easy.

by Lawrence R. Jacobs via Made By History on July 22, 2024

Person sitting on couch watching the news.

Is the Age of the Resistance Historian Coming to an End?

People who study the past don’t always have special insight into politics. Recent events have made that crystal clear.

by William Hogeland via Slate on July 11, 2024

President Joe Biden speaking at campaign event.

The Arguments for Biden 2024 Keep Getting Worse

No, "history" does not tell us that the Democrats shouldn't change their nominee.

by Eric Levitz via Vox on July 9, 2024

Joe Biden lifting finger.

Hey Man, We’re Out of Runway

On three histories of the Biden White House, and the 2024 election.

by Christian Lorentzen via London Review of Books on July 8, 2024

Hubert Humphrey.

Votes for Humphrey [Biden]

On (not) voting.

by Michael Brenes via Warfare And Welfare on June 11, 2024

Joe Biden speaking in January.

No, the 2024 Election Won’t Be Anything Like 1968

The election will be a challenge for Joe Biden. But looking to the past won’t help him—or us—understand what lies ahead.

by Walter Shapiro via The New Republic on May 9, 2024

Then President Donald Trump, right, and Joe Biden, then the Democratic presidential nominee, during the U.S. presidential debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 22, 2020.

The Biden-Trump Rematch May Mark the End of an Era

Over the course of U.S. history, presidential rematches have signaled momentous political upheavals.

by Bruce J. Schulman via Made By History on April 4, 2024

Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

The Wild History of “Lesser of Two Evils” Voting

For as long as Americans have been subjected to lousy candidates, they’ve been told to suck it up and vote for one of them.

by Ginny Hogan via The Nation on March 19, 2024

Photo of Donald Trump at a podium and pointing.

The Supreme Court Must Unanimously Strike Down Trump’s Ballot Removal

Excluding him, wrongfully, by a close vote of the Supreme Court could well trigger the next Civil War.

by Lawrence Lessig via Slate on December 20, 2023

U.S. Capitol building

Searching for the Perfect Republic

On the 14th amendment – and if it might stop Trump.

by Eric Foner, Ted Widmer via The Guardian on November 15, 2023

1988 Republican presidential candidates on the debate stage.

Republicans Didn’t Always Run Far to the Right in Presidential Primaries

The 1988 presidential primary showed it wasn't always like this — and helped guide the GOP to where it is now.

by Robert L. Fleegler via Made By History on June 8, 2023

Joe Biden surrounded by words emanating from a book.

Can America’s Problems Be Fixed By A President Who Loves Jon Meacham?

How a pop historian shaped the soul of Biden’s presidency.

by Kara Voght via Mother Jones on April 2, 2021

Mexican immigrants huddled in a cage during Operation Wetback.

Trump's Deportation Model

A 1950s mass deportation campaign shows that abuse and dehumanization are intrinsic to immigrant detention.

by Ana Raquel Minian via Dissent on October 31, 2024

"Vote here" sign in English and Spanish.

Chasing the “Latino Vote”

Political campaigns have often misunderstood Latino voters, oversimplifying their diversity and facing challenges in outreach and engagement.

by Mike Amezcua via Perspectives on History on October 30, 2024

Wilmington after the massacre.

The Troubling Consequence of State Takeovers of Local Government

State efforts to usurp local government power over schools, elections, and police tend to diminish Black political power.

by Domingo Morel via Made By History on October 25, 2024

Trump holding a table of tariff rates.

Tariffs Don’t Have to Make Economic Sense to Appeal to Trump Voters

Economists and Democrats dismiss Trump’s tariffs talk at their peril.

by Bruce J. Schulman via Made By History on October 24, 2024

Ronald Reagan preparing for a broadcast on Voice of America.

Whose Ronald Reagan?

Fighting over the legacy of a conservative hero in the era of Trump.

by Susan B. Glasser via Foreign Affairs on October 22, 2024

Jane Addams.

‘Childless Cat Ladies’ Have Long Contributed to the Welfare of American Children − and the Nation

Criticisms of women without biological children define motherhood too narrowly, as history reveals the many forms of motherhood.

by Anya Jabour via The Conversation on October 21, 2024

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