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Jon Grinspan
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These Torchlit Young Marchers Helped to Save American Democracy
They called themselves the Wide Awakes. They are a lesson in building a political movement.
by
Jon Grinspan
via
Washington Post
on
May 14, 2024
The Club of Cape-Wearing Activists Who Helped Elect Lincoln—and Spark the Civil War
The untold story of the Wide Awakes, the young Americans who took up the torch for their antislavery cause and stirred the nation.
by
Jon Grinspan
via
Smithsonian
on
April 1, 2024
The Father-Daughter Team Who Reformed America
Meet the duo who helped achieve the most important labor and civil rights victories of their age.
by
Jon Grinspan
via
Smithsonian
on
November 3, 2022
The Forgotten Precedent for Our ‘Unprecedented’ Political Insanity
The decades after the Civil War saw mass participation and mass outrage, followed by a period of orderly reform. What can we learn from that era today?
by
Jon Grinspan
via
Politico Magazine
on
April 24, 2021
When Young Americans Marched for Democracy Wearing Capes
In 1880, a new generation helped decide the closest popular vote in U.S. history.
by
Jon Grinspan
via
Smithsonian
on
November 1, 2020
“If Anybody Says Election to Me, I Want to Fight”
The messy election of 1876.
by
Jon Grinspan
via
Perspectives on History
on
October 19, 2020
partner
The Most Contentious Presidential Transition in American History
Was Abraham Lincoln's the most tumultuous presidential transition in American history?
by
Jon Grinspan
,
James M. McPherson
,
Peter Feuerherd
,
Frederic Bancroft
via
JSTOR Daily
on
November 22, 2016
“Young Men for War”: The Wide Awakes and Lincoln’s 1860 Presidential Campaign
Wearing shiny black capes and practicing infantry drills had nothing to do with preparing for civil war.
by
Jon Grinspan
via
Journal of American History
on
September 1, 2009
Book
Wide Awake
: The Forgotten Force That Elected Lincoln and Spurred the Civil War
Jon Grinspan
2024
Related Excerpts
Viewing 1–8 of 8
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
What Made Gilded Age Politics So Acrimonious?
Fearful of increasing participation, elites of the era attempted to rein in democracy.
by
Chris Lehmann
via
The New Republic
on
June 21, 2021
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.
by
Eric Foner
via
The Nation
on
June 1, 2021
The History of Presidential Assassination Attempts, From Andrew Jackson to Teddy Roosevelt
Before last weekend’s attack on Donald Trump, would-be assassins targeted Ronald Reagan, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and seven other presidents or candidates.
by
Meilan Solly
via
Smithsonian
on
July 17, 2024
How Coffee Helped the Union Caffeinate Their Way to Victory in the Civil War
The North’s fruitful partnership with Liberian farmers fueled a steady supply of an essential beverage.
by
Bronwen Everill
via
Smithsonian
on
June 27, 2024
Did Voter Fraud Kill Edgar Allan Poe?
The death of mystery writer Edgar Allan Poe is its own mystery. But new research suggests election fraud may have contributed to his demise in Baltimore.
by
Randy Dotinga
via
Retropolis
on
March 26, 2023
Ask the ‘Coupologists’: Just What Was Jan. 6 Anyway?
Without a name for it, figuring out why it happened is that much harder.
by
Joshua Zeitz
,
Ruth Ben-Ghiat
,
Scott Althaus
,
Matt Cleary
,
Ryan McMaken
via
Politico Magazine
on
August 19, 2022
Children Will Listen
A political education begins with knockoff opinions amid the 1840 U.S. presidential election.
by
Andrew Dickson White
via
Lapham’s Quarterly
on
March 1, 1905