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Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale at 1984 presidential debate.

When a Debate Flop Raised Concerns About Ronald Reagan's Fitness to Run for Re-Election

During the 1984 campaign, the 73-year-old president meandered his way through his face-off against Walter Mondale, prompting questions about his mental acuity.
by Eli Wizevich via Smithsonian on July 11, 2024
President smiling at a debate

Debating. Ourselves.

There has been some famous presidential campaign moments in the past 50 years. However, not everyone knows or remembers these moments.
by Paul Orlando via 3 Quarks Daily on October 5, 2020
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Political Debates: What Unforgettable Moments Reveal

High-stakes debates put candidates in the hot seat. But are they helpful to voters?
via Retro Report on September 24, 2020
Host Jack Barry and two contestants on the game show "21."

Think Presidential Debates Are Dull? Thank 1950s TV Game Shows

The only debate arrangement that everyone could agree to 60 years ago remains in place today – the game show format.
by Michael J. Socolow via The Conversation on December 17, 2019

How Televising Presidential Debates Changed Everything

Ever since Kennedy-Nixon, televised debates have given viewers an insight into candidates' policies—and their personalities, too.
by Livia Gershon, James N. Druckman via JSTOR Daily on September 23, 2016
Harris on a tv screen.

TV Still Runs Politics

Just about every major development in the current presidential campaign started as a television event.
by Paul Farhi via The Atlantic on August 22, 2024
President Joe Biden speaking at campaign event.

The Arguments for Biden 2024 Keep Getting Worse

No, "history" does not tell us that the Democrats shouldn't change their nominee.
by Eric Levitz via Vox on July 9, 2024
Republican debate.

What the Republican Debates Get Wrong About the Puritans

Pence invoked them at the Republican debates, but a true reckoning with their history provides a different vision of the nation’s future.
by Peter C. Mancall via Zócalo Public Square on September 27, 2023
Donald Trump stands in front of a microphone, holding a graph titled "Illegal Immigration into the US."

Trump’s Anti-Haitian Hate Has Deep American Roots

The former president’s grotesque demagoguery is just the latest in a long line of vicious attacks on residents and immigrants from the island nation.
by Jonathan M. Katz via The New Republic on September 16, 2024
Person sitting on couch watching the news.

Is the Age of the Resistance Historian Coming to an End?

People who study the past don’t always have special insight into politics. Recent events have made that crystal clear.
by William Hogeland via Slate on July 11, 2024
A photograph of Joe Biden next to a photograph of Lyndon Baines Johnson imposed on a red background.

Lyndon Johnson Knew That Part of Wielding Power Is Knowing When to Let It Go

As Democrats debate whether Joe Biden should stay in the race against Trump, LBJ’s often misunderstood example looms.
by Christopher Hooks via Texas Monthly on July 2, 2024
2024 Republican presidential debate on Fox News.
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How Cable News Upended American Politics

Cable TV's backers sold the technology as a boon to democracy, but embraced a business model that chased niche audiences.
by Kathryn Cramer Brownell via Made By History on September 27, 2023
Iranian hostages exiting a plane with a sign that reads "Welcome back to freedom."

It’s All But Settled: The Reagan Campaign Delayed the Release of the Iranian Hostages

Suspicions have long swirled around unscrupulous campaign manager William Casey. We believe the evidence is now overwhelming.
by Stuart E. Eizenstat, Jonathan Alter, Kai Bird, Gary Sick via The New Republic on May 3, 2023
The Supreme Court building in Washington, D. C.

Why History Shows 'Court Packing' Isn't Extreme

Court packing obscures more than it reveals about the current debate over the size of the Supreme Court.
by Nicole Hemmer via CNN on October 12, 2020
Donald Trump and Joe Biden behind podiums during the first presidential debate of 2020
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President Trump Gets the Suburbs All Wrong

His conception of what appeals to suburban voters is frozen in the past.
by Michelle M. Nickerson via Made By History on October 1, 2020
Police Officers observing and guarding.

Trump's War on Election Integrity Follows a Racist Playbook Used in 1980s Orange County

As Trump calls for legions to, as he proclaimed, 'go into the polls,' we should recall the sordid episode of voter intimidation that happened in Orange County.
by Gustavo Arellano via Los Angeles Times on October 1, 2020

How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future

When J.F.K. ran for President, a team of data scientists with powerful computers set out to model and manipulate American voters. Sound familiar?
by Jill Lepore via The New Yorker on July 27, 2020
Graffito picture of Richard Nixon superimposed on lines an German text.

Richard Nixon, Modular Man

Even knowing every awful thing Richard Nixon would go on to do, you had to respect, as the phrase goes, his hustle.
by Phil Christman via The Hedgehog Review on April 6, 2020

How Did the Presidential Campaign Get to Be So Long?

U.S. presidential elections didn't drag on so long before the late sixties.
by Rachel Caufield via The Conversation on July 30, 2019

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