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The committee assigned to draft the Declaration of Independence examines the document.

The Declaration of Independence Mourns for Something People Lost in 1776 − and Now, Too

The nation’s founding document, the Declaration of Independence, depicts a wounded, fearful society, teetering on the brink of disaster. Sound familiar?
by Maurizio Valsania via The Conversation on June 17, 2025
Thaddeus Stevens
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Thaddeus Stevens and the Power of the Purse

The Radical Republican oversaw federal spending at the dawn of Reconstruction. How did his support for Black equality affect his leadership in the House?
by Cecily Nelson Zander via HNN on February 25, 2025
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

History Warns Us About Cabinet Members Like RFK Jr.

If RFK is confirmed, he is likely to fail for reasons similar to those for past political choices for the cabinet.
by Dan McLaughlin via The New Republic on February 8, 2025
Red elephant and blue donkey on the scales of justice.

The Origin of Campaign Finance Reform Troubles

While the Citizens United case created major shifts in campaign contributions and spending, an earlier decision played a bigger role in campaign finance laws.
by Ryan Reft via The Saturday Evening Post on October 17, 2024
Jimmy Carter and Max Cleland unveil a memorial to Vietnam Veterans during Veterans Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery in 1978.
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The History Behind the Attacks on Tim Walz's Military Record

In 2002, Republicans attacked the patriotism of a distinguished Democratic veteran. It worked and they've kept doing it ever since.
by Kyle Longley via Made By History on August 29, 2024
Chief Justice Earl Warren (left), President Richard Nixon (center), and Chief Justice Warren E. Burger (right).

I Argued ‘U.S. v. Nixon.’ The Supreme Court’s New Ruling on Presidential Immunity Appalled Me.

Fifty years after ruling against a corrupt president, the Court has now decided that presidents are above the law.
by Philip Allen Lacovara via The Bulwark on July 8, 2024
Henry Kissinger in the table in the White House situation room.

Kissinger, Me, and the Lies of the Master

‘Off off the record’ with the man who secretly taped our telephone calls.
by Seymour M. Hersh via seymourhersh.substack on December 6, 2023
A young J. Edgar Hoover sitting at a desk.

When Hoover Met Palmer: Domestic Surveillance and Radical Suppression in the Early Days of the FBI

J. Edgar Hoover’s ascent within the FBI reveals the birth of an unprecedented surveillance apparatus that would survey US citizens for decades to come.
by Ryan Reft via Tropics of Meta on October 10, 2023
Supreme Court Justice Harlan F. Stone photographed with a book.

The Supreme Court's World War II Battles

Cliff Sloan’s new book explains how the Franklin Roosevelt-shaped Court wrestled with individual rights as the nation fought to save itself and the world.
by Robert L. Tsai via Washington Monthly on September 22, 2023
In July 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt swore in Attorney General Robert Jackson as a Supreme Court justice. Jackson and Roosevelt often played poker together.

How FDR’s Influence Over the Supreme Court Transformed History

In “The Court at War,” Cliff Sloan examines the close relationship between FDR and the high court during World War II.
by Michael Bobelian via Washington Post on September 22, 2023
Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas leading Washington Post editors on a hike along the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, as part of his campaign to prevent the construction of a highway along its route, Maryland, 1954.

The Frontier Justice

William O. Douglas was a strong advocate of conservation, but as a Supreme Court justice his involvement in such issues was often ethically questionable.
by Jed S. Rakoff via New York Review of Books on May 4, 2023
A portrait of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase, nicknamed "Old Bacon Face," painted by John Beale Bordley in 1836.

Can a Supreme Court Justice Be Impeached? Meet ‘Old Bacon Face.’

Samuel Chase was the only Supreme Court justice to be impeached, after he openly campaigned for a president and told jurors who he thought was guilty.
by Gillian Brockell via Retropolis on April 7, 2023
Still from The Wire (HBO): two detectives, McNulty and Bunk.

20 Years Later, "The Wire" Is Still a Cutting Critique of American Capitalism

The Wire — both stylish and smart, follows unforgettable characters woven into a striking portrait of the depredations of capitalism in one US city.
by Helena Sheehan, Sheamus Sweeney via Jacobin on June 14, 2022
the contra military group

Reagan and the Iran-Contra Affair

Reagan's commitment to deregulation, aggressive military spending, and diminished oversight created a cocktail of corruption that was worse than Watergate.
by Jeremi Suri via American Heritage on February 1, 2021
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.
by James Bovard via The American Conservative on December 29, 2020

The Loser King

Failing upward with Oliver North.
by Matt Hanson via The Baffler on March 10, 2020

Is History Being Too Kind to George H.W. Bush?

The 41st president put self-interest over principle time and time again.
by David Greenberg via Politico Magazine on December 1, 2018

Was Gary Hart Set Up?

On his deathbed, GOP strategist Lee Atwater admitted he staged the events that brought down a Democratic presidential candidate.
by James Fallows via The Atlantic on October 16, 2018

The Gospel of Wealth

How did the “moral economy”—a concept that once encompassed a radical critique of capitalism—become the province of billionaires?
by Tehila Sasson via Dissent on August 22, 2018
Identification documents and photo of Hans Speier on the cover of "Democracy in Exile."

Killing Democracy to Save It

How an idealistic defense intellectual concluded that democracy is often its own worst enemy.
by John Ganz via Los Angeles Review of Books on July 6, 2018

Secret Use of Census Info Helped Send Japanese Americans to Internment Camps in WWII

The abuse of data from the 1940 census has fueled fears about a citizenship question on the 2020 census form.
by Lori Aratani via Retropolis on April 6, 2018

Paul Manafort, American Hustler

Before Trump, one lobbyist’s pursuit of foreign cash and shady deals laid the groundwork for Washington’s corruption.
by Franklin Foer via The Atlantic on January 28, 2018

Trump’s Defense of Taking Foreign Money Is Historically Illiterate

The Justice Department lawyers are getting the Founding Fathers all wrong.
by Joshua Zeitz via Politico Magazine on June 11, 2017

Why Federal Employees Can Thank FDR for Some Restrictions on Their Tweets

The Hatch Act was crafted in response to New Deal-era political maneuvering.
by Olivia B. Waxman via TIME on April 3, 2017

Why America’s Founding Fathers Wanted the President to Take a Salary

One of the very reasons the framers wanted the president to take a salary, was to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
by Jena McGregor via Washington Post on March 15, 2017
U.S. President George W. Bush holds a news conference in the briefing room of the White House in Washington July 15, 2008.

George W. Bush's White House "Lost" 22 Million Emails

The outrage and press coverage was nothing compared with that surrounding Hillary Clinton's emails.
by Nina Burleigh via Newsweek on September 12, 2016
Portrait of Charles Sumner

First in War, First in Nepotism

In 1872, Charles Sumner decries “a president who makes his great office a plaything and perquisite.”
by Charles Sumner via Lapham’s Quarterly on May 31, 1872
Political cartoon depicts Roosevelt steering a ship out of a depression while his detractors are rained on.

Welcoming Their Hatred

As Elon Musk and Donald Trump engaged in a campaign of mutually-assured destruction, social media saw record new levels of schadenfreude.
by Kevin M. Kruse via Campaign Trails on June 6, 2025
Davy Crockett monument in Texas.

The Political Example of Davy Crockett

As a congressman, Davy Crockett found ways to navigate populist upheaval and maintain his own independence.
by Miles Smith IV via Law & Liberty on November 12, 2024
Supreme Court building.

Lifetime Tenure for Supreme Court Justices Has Outlived Its Usefulness

While letting justices serve during “good behavior” was designed to encourage impartiality, it now tends to promote the opposite effect.
by Jack Rakove via Brennan Center For Justice on October 15, 2024
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