It is all too clear that few, if any, are satisfied with the status quo in the United States. Among the issues that have arisen in recent history—civil unrest, an assault on the US Capitol, the Afghanistan Debacle, etc.—the American people have obviously concluded that the country is declining. The president, by and large, does…
Every aspect of U.S. society seems like it is getting more and more polarized. Politicians tear at each other. The news media and social media are divided between “fake news” and “lies.” Our institutions, including religious institutions, are no longer trusted. Parts of several states want to join a different state. Some states just want…
by Luka Ladan Two weeks into his first term, President Biden is redefining “the power of the pen.” As of early February, America’s 46th president has signed 28 executive orders into law, just short of the number that President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed in his first month. (Roosevelt is the record-holder for executive orders signed in a president’s first…
Mark Canada, Indiana University The previous year in the United States was a turbulent one, filled with political strife, protests over racism and a devastating pandemic. Underlying all three has been a pervasive political polarization, made worse by a breakdown in civic – and civil – discourse, not only on Capitol Hill, but around the…
Growing up in the early 2000s, I used to see those little “Coexist” bumper stickers on cars all over town. I don’t see them anymore. Maybe the bumper sticker trend faded, perhaps I moved to a more conservative area (let’s be honest, those people were liberals), or maybe people just gave up on the idea…
Union dead at Gettysburg, July 1863. National Archives, Timothy H. O’Sullivan photographer Gary W. Gallagher, University of Virginia It has become common to say that the United States in 2020 is more divided politically and culturally than at any other point in our national past. As a historian who has written and taught about the…
There’s really no denying that we are in a time of deep political division. With everything from the impeachment proceedings to a contentious election cycle that began as soon as the midterms ended, it seems we may have indeed become the divided republic the American founders feared. Though there are many reasons to be optimistic…