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Republicans Are Moving Rapidly to Cement Minority Rule. Blame the Constitution.

Democracy is in trouble, but a lawless coup isn’t the real threat.
Painting of: Napoleon Bonaparte in Egypt, 1867, by Jean-Leon Gerome.

What Is the Relationship Between Democracy and Authoritarianism?

The Age of Revolution inaugurated a new era in modern history defined not only by new democratic institutions but also by despots and charismatic leaders.
Cartoon of politicians arguing

The Gilded Age’s Democratic Contradictions

How the late 19th century’s raucous party system gave way to a sedate and exclusionary political culture that erected more and more barriers to participation.
People signing the declaration of independence

Our 250-Year Fight for Multiracial Democracy

We say we’re for it. We’ve never truly had it. These next few years will determine its fate.
"We the People"; US Constitution

It Would Be Great if the United States Were Actually a Democracy

The pervasive mythmaking about the supposed wisdom of the founders has covered up a central truth: the US Constitution is an antidemocratic mess.
Richard Mentor Johnson.

He Became the Nation’s Ninth Vice President. She Was His Enslaved Wife.

Her name was Julia Chinn.
A man during the Capitol Siege holding a Confederate flag.

The Case for a Third Reconstruction

The enduring lesson of American history is that the republic is always in danger when white supremacist sedition and violence escape justice.
Roger Stone

How to Steal an American Election

From Alexander Hamilton to Richard Nixon and more: meddling, fixing, rigging, fraud, and violence.
Person walking with Confederate flag inside of the U.S. Capitol

The Capitol Riot Reveals the Dangers From the Enemy Within

But the belief that America previously had a well-functioning democracy is an illusion.
Man with a pistol at his hip carries the retired flag of Mississippi with a confederate battle emblem in it, and a Trump 2020 flag.
partner

Yes, Wednesday’s Attempted Insurrection Is Who We Are

While Wednesday's images shocked us, they fit into our history.
Ted Cruz.

The Dangerous Historical Precedent for Ted Cruz’s Shameless Electoral College Gambit

The Texas senator claims to be moved by the spirit of 1876, but he’s just another huckster playing a risky game with democracy.
Donald Trump speaks with reporters on Thanksgiving, November 26th, 2020.

“Almost the Complete Opposite of Fascism”

A conversation with Corey Robin on the surprisingly weak presidency of Donald Trump.

Minority Rule Cannot Last in America

It never has.

‘America Is a Republic, Not a Democracy’ Is a Dangerous—And Wrong—Argument

Enabling sustained minority rule at the national level is not a feature of our constitutional design, but a perversion of it.
Black and White photo of JFK and Richard Nixon

The Time Nixon’s Cronies Tried to Overturn a Presidential Election

The gambit was cynical and disruptive, but in the end it didn’t work.
John Adams

On the Peaceful Transfer of Power

Lessons from 1800.
Rutherford B. Hayes and Donald Trump.
partner

The Election From Our Past That Blares a Warning for 2020

A contested presidential election in 1876 produced a devastating compromise.

The Republican Choice

How a party spent decades making itself white.

John Sherman’s Struggle to Preserve Democracy

This is not the first time that democratic governance appeared to be under assault.

wE’rE a rEPuBLiC nOt A dEMoCRacY

A political usage guide for a feckless commentariat.
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.

America Is Living James Madison’s Nightmare

The Founders designed a government that would resist mob rule. They didn’t anticipate how strong the mob could become.

Trump’s Defense of Taking Foreign Money Is Historically Illiterate

The Justice Department lawyers are getting the Founding Fathers all wrong.
Political cartoon depicting fat-cat tycoons sitting on money on a dock made of commodities held aloft by struggling laborers.

From Fat Cats to Egg Heads: The Changing American 'Elite'

American has long been suspicious of “elites”, but just who they are has changed a lot over the last 200 years.

What Did the Three-Fifths Compromise Actually Do?

It was motivated in part by white Southerners' concerns about taxes, but ended up being all about maintaining their political power.

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