Person

Donald Trump

Related Excerpts

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The Capitol Riot Was an Attack on Multiracial Democracy

True democracy in America is a young, fragile experiment that must be defended if it is to endure.
Newspaper article featuring a photo of Smedley Butler.

In Trump's Plot to Seize the White House, Who Will Be Our Smedley Butler?

In 1934, a fascist coup was planned to remove President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and stop the New Deal. Donald Trump has made it relevant again.
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You Are Witness to a Crime

In ACT UP, belonging was not conferred by blood. Care was offered when you joined others on the street with the intent to bring the AIDS crisis to an end.
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.

The Dark History of School Choice

How an argument for segregated schools became a rallying cry for privatizing public education.
Mount Rushmore.

The Battle for the Black Hills

Nick Tilsen was arrested for protesting President Trump at Mount Rushmore. Now, his legal troubles are part of a legacy.
President Richard Nixon and Vice President Gerald Ford in the White House, along with their wives, First Lady Pat Nixon and Betty Ford

Gerald Ford and the Perversion of Presidential Pardons

In pardoning Nixon, the 38th president opened the floodgates to boundless executive power.
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The War on Christmas

A brief history of the Yuletide in America.

The Enduring Lessons of a New Deal Writers Project

The case for a Federal Writers' Project 2.0.
Statue of Shakespeare, Central Park, New York City.

Shakespeare’s Contentious Conversation With America

James Shapiro’s recent book looks at why Shakespeare has been a mainstay of the cultural and political conflicts of the country since its founding.
Joe Biden speaking as the president elect.
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What Biden’s Attachment to An American Century Might Mean

Biden’s vision may conflict with promoting purported American values such as democracy and human rights.
The Oquirrh Mountain Temple in Salt Lake City

The Most American Religion

Perpetual outsiders, Mormons spent 200 years assimilating to a certain national ideal—only to find their country in an identity crisis.
Political cartoon depicting the menace of monopolies and trusts (1899)

Degeneration Nation

How a Gilded Age best seller shaped American race discourse.
Pieces of the American Flag cut up to resemble the Texas flag

We Need to Talk About Secession

With chatter about Texas leaving the union on the rise, two new books remind us what it was like the last time we tried to go it alone.
Silhouette of a soldier sitting on aircraft

The Long Roots of Endless War

A new history shows how the glut of US military bases abroad has led to a constant state of military conflict.
Rudy Giuliani speaking at a Trump rally
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Republicans Won’t Speak Out Against Trump Because They’re Afraid Politically

And history says they have a reason to be.
Bubbles with numbers of black Georgia school teachers, centered is 1896 when there were 3316.

American History XYZ

The chaotic quest to mythologize America’s past.
Photo of people protesting and demanding all votes are counted the day after Election Day at McPherson Square, near the White House.
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President Trump’s False Claims About Election Fraud Are Dangerous

Trump’s campaign to delegitimize the vote has a familiar ring. It evokes an egregious example of election fraud in the 1890s.
A women in a newsroom covering the election
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Good TV Demands Results on Election Night, but That’s Bad for Democracy

The history of tuning in to televised election returns.
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Poll Watchers and the Long History of Voter Intimidation

President Trump has called on supporters, including law enforcement officers, to monitor election sites. Voter intimidation tactics have a long history.