From the Southwest Ledger 1854 began the destruction of the Second American Party System. When Democrats fought to accept Kansas as a slave state, they were able to claim the mantle of the slavery party. Southern Whigs who supported slavery just as strongly began abandoning their party rather than looking soft on the institution. With … Continue reading History of American Political Parties, Part IX: The Politics of War →

From the Southwest Ledger By James Finck, Ph.D. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” I doubt … Continue reading Andrew Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt, Hillary Clinton and the Watergate Scandal: An Brief, Annotated History of Campaign Finance →

From the Southwest Ledger By James Finck, Ph.D. In grad school one of the hardest parts in studying the Israel/Palestine issue was trying to understand who led the Palestinians. It reminds me of the scene from Monty Python’s The Life of Brian when members of the People's Front of Judea talked about how much they … Continue reading Palestinian Leadership →