Skip to content
Historically Speaking

Historically Speaking

Current events through a historical lens

  • Home
  • Historically Speaking
  • Class Notes
  • About
  • Contact

Month: February 2021

Class Notes

Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said, “The doctrine of the separation of powers was adopted by the Convention of 1787, not to promote efficiency, but to preclude the exercise of arbitrary power. The purpose was, not to avoid friction, but, by means of the inevitable friction incident to the distribution of governmental powers among … Continue reading Class Notes →

James Finck Class Notes Leave a comment February 26, 2021 1 Minute

Class Notes

The Nation divided over the War of 1812.  New England Federalists opposed the war because it harmed their budding industry.  Several Northern states met at Hartford to protest the war.  They also discussed the possibility of secession if some concessions were not made, including repealing the 3/5 clause in the Constitution.  The fact that three … Continue reading Class Notes →

James Finck Class Notes Leave a comment February 25, 2021 1 Minute

Class Notes

Today's class notes is a bit different. I was a guest on a podcast called "What the Politics?" and thought I would share the discussion. We talked about presidential powers, executive orders and Civil War https://www.wnct.com/wnct-podcast-network/what-the-politics-episode-23-presidential-powers-executive-orders-and-the-civil-war/

James Finck Class Notes Leave a comment February 24, 2021 1 Minute

Class Notes

When JFK took over the presidency he had to decide if he wanted to continue with his predecessor’s plan of invading Cuba and overthrowing Fidel Castro.  The CIA had assured the new president that Castro was not popular with the Cuban people and they would revolt against him with the invasion.  The Bay of Pigs … Continue reading Class Notes →

James Finck Class Notes Leave a comment February 23, 2021 1 Minute

Class Notes

For the Election of 1808, the Republican choice was basically a formality.  James Madison had been Jefferson’s Secretary of State for eight years and was basically his right-hand man.  There was not much difference between the two men, both were Virginia slave holding aristocrats who held the same ideas of government.  The only issue was … Continue reading Class Notes →

James Finck Class Notes Leave a comment February 22, 2021 1 Minute

Book Review

Tolan, Sandy.  The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East (New York: Bloomsbury) 2007. When teaching classes on the Middle East the most difficult subject to teach about is the Israel-Palestine relationship.  At the heart of any discussion, students want to know who is to blame and how do … Continue reading Book Review →

James Finck Class Notes Leave a comment February 19, 2021 3 Minutes

Class Notes

In 1960, Kennedy ran for office on the premise that he was just as much a Cold Warrior as those who came before him.  Being a liberal, he had to show that he was tough on Communism.  He said in a speech, “Freedom and Communism are in a deadly embrace; the world cannot exist half … Continue reading Class Notes →

James Finck Class Notes Leave a comment February 18, 2021 1 Minute

Class Notes

It is always tragic when someone like Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandhi, who are fighting for peace, are shot down by their own countrymen.  For Israel that man was Yitzhak Rabin, who after years of violence was working towards a true lasting peace with Palestinians. At first glance Rabin does not seem like someone … Continue reading Class Notes →

James Finck Class Notes Leave a comment February 17, 2021 2 Minutes

Class Notes

One of the consequences of the Election of 1800 was the downfall of the Federalist Party.  They will run losing campaigns for the next four elections but are soundly defeated by the Republicans.  After the War of 1812, they will stop running candidates altogether and disappear.  Their party will never resurface, but their ideas will … Continue reading Class Notes →

James Finck Class Notes Leave a comment February 16, 2021 1 Minute

Executive Orders II

A couple of years ago, after President Trump backed out of the Paris Climate Treaty and the Iran Nuclear Deal, I wrote a column for "Historically Speaking," justifying his actions because those deals had been made by executive orders so could legally be overturned by executive order. At the same time, I argued that modern … Continue reading Executive Orders II →

James Finck Historically Speaking 2 Comments February 15, 2021 4 Minutes

Posts navigation

Older posts

Archives

  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019

Historically Speaking

Historically Speaking
Follow Historically Speaking on WordPress.com
Blog at WordPress.com.
Historically Speaking
Blog at WordPress.com.
  • Follow Following
    • Historically Speaking
    • Join 30 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Historically Speaking
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...