Civics
History of Presidents Day: More than just Washington and Lincoln?
Reading Time: 3 minutesHISTORY OF PRESIDENTS DAY Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial Podcast version uring my lifetime, two American holidays were consolidated into one. In 1971, a day between Lincoln’s Birthday on February 12 and Washington’s Birthday on February 22 became a single holiday, Presidents Day. celebrated this year on Monday, February…
Read MoreHistory of the Left vs. the Right
Reading Time: 6 minutesHistory of the Left vs. the Right Podcast What is the history behind the political terms “left” and “right”? What are the values important to each side? Are they pejorative political terms? Is one right correct and the other wrong?
Read MoreHistory of The Constitution of the United States: 238 Years Ago
Reading Time: 5 minutesHISTORY OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES Part of the series on America 250, the US Semiquincentennial Podcast On September 17, 1787, the US Constitution was created. Though it would take until: June 21, 1788, to be ratified, and until March 4, 1789, to be effective. In a very real sense,…
Read MoreHistory of Presidents Opposing Supreme Court: Separation of Powers
Reading Time: 6 minutesHistory of Presidents Opposing Supreme Court: Separation of Powers The question on many people’s minds right now is: What’s going on between the President and the Supreme Court? How does the separation of powers between the US government’s Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches work? A more helpful question, to put it in historical perspective, is:…
Read MoreHistory of Presidential Inaugurations: Why on January 20?
Reading Time: 6 minutesHISTORY OF PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATIONS: WHY ON JANUARY 20? In 1933, it seemed that a four-month transition between an outgoing “lame-duck” president, who was voted out in November, and a new administration starting in March was too long. Indeed, during the winter of 1932-1933, a horrific battle between the incumbent Herbert Hoover and President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt complicated FDR’s…
Read MoreHistory of Presidential Transitions: Has It Always Been Like Now?
Reading Time: 9 minutesHISTORY OF PRESIDENTIAL TRANSITIONS: WAS IT ALWAYS LIKE NOW? We think our most recent change in Presidential administration is contentious. But our national history has seen worse. It goes back over 200 years to the third Presidential election and several since then.
Read MoreHistory of the Democratic National Convention: Past and Present
Reading Time: 6 minutesHISTORY OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION [Updated for today’s event.] August 19 is the beginning of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The Democratic National Convention’s history goes back to 1832 and has been administered under the Democratic National Committee since 1852. However, this year’s event represents a series of unique events in the…
Read MoreHistory of Presidential Conventions: What Happens Next?
Reading Time: 4 minutesHISTORY OF PRESIDENTIAL CONVENTIONS: WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? “May you live in interesting times,” goes an apocryphal Chinese curse. Interesting times, indeed. The recent departure of President Joe Biden from the 2024 presidential race has implications for the race that are both obvious and subtle. But especially, it poses several questions: So, what will…
Read MoreHistory of US Presidential Assassinations: Political Violence
Reading Time: 5 minutesHISTORY OF US PRESIDENTIAL ASSASSINATIONS: POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN AMERICA Dion‘s 1968 hit song “Abraham, Martin, and John” tells of the well-known assassinations of three American leaders. Then it ends with a last verse: “Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby? Can you tell me where he’s gone? I thought I saw him walkin’ up over…
Read MoreHistory of Super Tuesday: Why Is It Significant?
Reading Time: 5 minutesHISTORY OF SUPER TUESDAY What is Super Tuesday, why is it called that, and what will it determine? Super Tuesday is the US presidential primary election day on March 5 (this year), when the largest number of states in the country will have their primaries. This is significant this year, as these primaries will determine…
Read MoreHistory of Military Stalemates: Why We Have Proxy Wars
Reading Time: 7 minutesHistory of Military Stalemates: Why We Have Proxy Wars In recent weeks, the U.S. Congress has been considering bills for funding military support in Israel, Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific (code for Taiwan). What is the historical perspective behind funding wars that are not “directly” in a country or on its borders? Why do nations use proxy…
Read MoreHistory of Election Day: Why we Vote on a Tuesday in November
Reading Time: 3 minutesWhy do we vote on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November?
Read More