It is that time of the year when I have to put Class Notes on pause for a while.  Today is my last day of the semester.  I am teaching American History from 1789-1865 in June and will pick back up then.  I will continue with my Historically Speaking columns in the meantime. By 1858 … Continue reading Class Notes →

Ronald Reagan was able to come to power by riding in on the coattails of a coalition of voters created by Nixon.  Yet as well as the silent majority, Reagan added the Christian Right, Businessmen, Cold War Democrats, and disgruntled blue-collar workers.  The Christian Right was concerned about new social issues and what they saw … Continue reading Class Notes →

There are some similarities with the election law debates today and the 1852 election.  By the 1850s, the parties were solidified, you were either a Whig or a Democrat.  Both parties ran a war hero from the Mexican War and both parties endorsed the biggest issue of the day, the 1850 Compromise.  So, for this … Continue reading Class Notes →

By the 1970s the environment had started to become a major political issue.  Americans had begun to realize that they were hurting the planet.  A very savvy President Nixon was able to use the environment as a unifying issue. The silent majority, businessmen, and student protesters could all agree saving the planet was a positive … Continue reading Class Notes →

The Mexican War made it difficult to keep the new political parties intact.  Because the north saw the war as an attempt to acquire more slave land the politicians began to side more with their section than with their party.  When David Wilmot tried to pass a rider on an appropriations bill that outlawed slavery … Continue reading Class Notes →

Today instead of a class note I want to write an editorial.  I think all Americans should be concerned about the executive order made yesterday by President Biden. Try to forget for a moment, if you can, whether you agree with Biden or not and try instead to focus on the procedure.  Democrats in Congress … Continue reading Class Notes →

1967 became known as the "Summer of Love," as thousands of hippies flocked to the Haight Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco.  Here they experienced an orgy of drugs, music, and free love.  The nightly concerts introduced artists like Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and the Grateful Dead.  It was not meant to be political but can … Continue reading Class Notes →

The Whigs had been cheated out of a victory in the 1840 election.  They had finally won the presidency, only to have him die after a month.  His replacement, John Tyler, had been a Democrat but used by the Whigs to get southern votes.  Tyler, who fought against the Whigs, was basically a man without … Continue reading Class Notes →

By 1968, the New Left movement began to fall apart.  The Democratic Party turned on Johnson over his Vietnam policies.  Eugene McCarthy basically stopped campaigning after Bobby Kennedy’s assassination.  The Civil Rights groups pulled out after Martin Luther King’s assassination.  Finally, when the Democrats nominated Hubert Humphrey, who wanted to continue Johnson’s fight over seas, … Continue reading Class Notes →