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Political cartoon of Grover Cleveland's trade policy.

Grover Cleveland and the Democrats Who Saved Conservatism

They stood against Tammany Hall, the centralized presidency, and profligate spending. Today's Right should give them another look.
by Daniel Bring via The American Conservative on August 28, 2019

How the Republican Majority Emerged

Fifty years after the Republican Party hit upon a winning formula, President Trump is putting it at risk.
by Kevin M. Kruse, Dov Weinryb Grohsgal via The Atlantic on August 6, 2019

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

Antislavery Wasn’t Mainstream, Until It Was

After Republicans lost their first election in 1856, Democrats declared slavery opposition radical and fringe. Then came 1860.
by Matthew Karp via Jacobin on May 11, 2019

Women’s Issues Within Political Party Platforms

Every four years, political parties document their positions in written platforms. How often do women's issues appear in the text?
by Jan Diehm, Russell Goldenberg via The Pudding on May 8, 2019
Bernie Sanders

The Transformation of Bernie Sanders

How the Vermont senator went from a third-party independent to a 2020 frontrunner.
by Matthew Karp via The Nation on May 7, 2019
partner

James Madison Responds to Sean Wilentz

Madison's Notes of the Constitutional Convention answer a current argument on the Electoral College.
by Alan J. Singer via HNN on April 7, 2019

The Electoral College Conundrum

There’s no consensus on abolishing the Electoral College, which has countered the popular vote in two of the past five presidential elections.
by Parker Richards via The Atlantic on November 23, 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 Writing Master, by Thomas Eakins, 1882. Painting of a man wearing glasses and writing with a pen.

Yawns Innumerable

The story of John Quincy Adams’ forgotten epic poem—and its most critical reader.
by Matthew Sherrill via Lapham’s Quarterly on September 6, 2018

No Matter What He Does, History Says Trump Will Never be Popular

Presidents who win the electoral college but lose the popular vote never really recover.
by Michael Kazin via Washington Post on July 21, 2017
Independence Day Celebration in Centre Square by John Lewis Krimmel (1787–1821).

The Brief Period, 200 Years Ago, When American Politics Was Full of “Good Feelings”

James Monroe’s 1817 goodwill tour kicked off a decade of party-less government – but he couldn’t stop the nation from dividing again.
by Erick Trickey via Smithsonian on July 17, 2017

The History of 'Stolen' Supreme Court Seats

As the new administration seeks to fill a vacancy on the Court, a look back at the forgotten mid-19th century battles over the judiciary.
by Erick Trickey via Smithsonian on March 20, 2017

Slavery, Democracy, and the Racialized Roots of the Electoral College

The Electoral College was created to help white Southerners maintain their disproportionate influence in national governance.
by Christopher F. Petrella via Black Perspectives on November 14, 2016

America's 'Big Sort' Is Only Getting Bigger

Political polarization in the U.S. mirrors its spatial divide.
by Richard Florida via CityLab on October 25, 2016

Beards, Bachelors, and Brides: The Surprisingly Spicy Politics of the Presidential Election of 1856

Of the presidential elections in early America, few have stressed the themes of sex and gender so spicily as the heated contest of 1856.
by Thomas J. Balcerski via Commonplace on July 16, 2016

The Art of the New Deal

Despite a fractured party and health concerns, FDR capitalized on name recognition to win the 1932 presidential election.
by Rebecca Onion via Slate on March 31, 2016
Bill Clinton in front of a poster that reads "New Democrats".

Atari Democrats

As organized labor lost strength, the Democratic Party turned to professional-class voters to shore up its base.
by Lily Geismer via Jacobin on February 8, 2016
The large Wide Awake parade in lower Manhattan.

“Young Men for War”: The Wide Awakes and Lincoln’s 1860 Presidential Campaign

Wearing shiny black capes and practicing infantry drills had nothing to do with preparing for civil war.
by Jon Grinspan via Journal of American History on September 1, 2009
A painting of an election taking place.

Children Will Listen

A political education begins with knockoff opinions amid the 1840 U.S. presidential election.
by Andrew Dickson White via Lapham’s Quarterly on March 1, 1905
Painting of Abraham Lincoln

The Election in November

The Atlantic’s editor endorsed Abraham Lincoln for presidency in the 1860 election, correctly predicting it would prove to be “a turning-point in our history.”
by James Russell Lowell via The Atlantic on October 1, 1860
Donald Trump and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

When Presidents Sought a Third (and Fourth) Term

Winning more than two elections was unthinkable. Then came FDR.
by Russell Berman via The Atlantic on May 1, 2025
Zombie hand reaching up from the ground in a graveyard.

The Dead Hand of Clintonism

More than 20 years after Bill Clinton left office, Democrats remain in the grips of his New Democrat politics. That’s a serious problem.
by Lily Geismer via The Nation on February 13, 2025
Polling volunteer handing a voter an "I Voted" sticker.

Did We Just See an Electoral Realignment?

Shifting voting patterns suggest it’s possible, but only if they persist through subsequent elections.
by Harold Meyerson via The American Prospect on November 7, 2024
Donald Trump standing behind a podium at a campaign event with his family at his side.

It’s the Charisma, Stupid

It’s not whom you’d want to get a beer with, but whom you’d want to watch getting a beer.
by Mark Oppenheimer via Arc: Religion, Politics, Et Cetera on November 6, 2024
Man reading a newspaper

A Brief Literary History of the Newspaper Endorsement

When did endorsements become pro forma, anyway? And what do they even do?
by Brittany Allen via Literary Hub on October 30, 2024
A Gallup poll.

Lessons From the Birth of Modern Opinion Polling

As George Gallup pioneered new methods of surveying the public, The Nation opined on their dangers—and democratic possibilities.
by Richard Kreitner via The Nation on October 24, 2024
Drawing of the Constitutional Convention, by John W. Winkler.
partner

Strange Political Bedfellows

The origins of the Electoral College are entwined with slavery, but not in the way that recent accounts have suggested.
by Mark McKibbin, Denver Brunsman via HNN on October 9, 2024
Political cartoon of politicians fist fighting.
partner

The Culture Question: How Hot-Button Issues Divide Us

Culture wars have a long and divisive history in American politics, with gender, race and religion continuing to inflame public opinion.
via Retro Report on September 20, 2024
Horace Greeley

This Presidential Candidate Died in a Sanatorium Less Than a Month After Losing the Election

Horace Greeley ran against incumbent Ulysses S. Grant in November 1872. Twenty-four days later, he died of unknown causes at a private mental health facility.
by Greg Daugherty via Smithsonian on September 19, 2024
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