Power

Some early progressives may have been advocates of states’ rights, but they misunderstood the philosophy of the American Founding.

As a congressman, Davy Crockett found ways to navigate populist upheaval and maintain his own independence.

When the Minnesota’s Farmer-Labor Party merged into the Democratic machine, its populist energies were chewed up and spat out.

Donald’s Trump’s resounding 2024 victory echoes electoral shifts of the past.

Often, the proper scope of the First Amendment can be determined only by considering both text and context.

Shifting voting patterns suggest it’s possible, but only if they persist through subsequent elections.

It’s not whom you’d want to get a beer with, but whom you’d want to watch getting a beer.

Native American communities were elaborate consensus democracies, many of which had survived for generations because of careful attention to balancing power.

How a local prosecutor protected white supremacists and went on to a career in Washington, DC.

This year’s momentous vote strangely resembles one of the most consequential elections in American history.

A new historical study finds that Congress’s authority to investigate crime is “indispensable” to the system of checks and balances.

When polarization lacks clear consequences, Americans are left with "a grin without a cat: a politics with only weak policy influence or institutional ties."

Congress's role in shaping policies like the Affordable Care Act and exonerating Port Chicago sailors is often overlooked, overshadowed by the president.

Political campaigns have often misunderstood Latino voters, oversimplifying their diversity and facing challenges in outreach and engagement.

Eight years into the fascism debate, few skeptics seem to be willing to admit that they were wrong.

State efforts to usurp local government power over schools, elections, and police tend to diminish Black political power.

Last minute disclosures or revelations can play an outsized role in the last weeks before an election.

The election of 1801 offers a first-hand example of how current events can offer historians new perspectives on the past.

Donald Trump wants the ideology of William McKinley and Gilded Age Republicanism, but with a totally different social base. It won’t work.

Fighting over the legacy of a conservative hero in the era of Trump.

Because Martin Van Buren was an unsuccessful president, his more significant contributions to the nation’s political life have also been obscured.

The Black Legion was a white supremacist fascist group headquartered in Lima, Ohio. Its worst deeds are lost to memory, but they shouldn’t be.

John Dickinson's contributions to the Constitution continue to reverberate today.

They say there’s never been a man like Donald Trump in American politics. But there was—and we should learn from him. Look back to early-20th-century Georgia.

The rivalry of two men tells the story of how Democrats fumbled with their traditional base—and how they can win again.

A century ago, when Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act, key questions about Native sovereignty were left unresolved.

Where conservatives may seek to conserve their democratic systems, reactionaries by their nature seek to weaken or abolish them.

When Puerto Ricans go to the polls, they can express their choice for several status options for the island.

The reelection of Donald Trump would mark the end of George Washington’s vision for the presidency—and the United States.

The origins of the Electoral College are entwined with slavery, but not in the way that recent accounts have suggested.