When it came to women voting, neither party really championed the cause.  The fight for suffrage came from outside the parties not from within.  What is interesting is that race played a role for why some started to lean towards allowing women to vote.  For Republicans, they were already supporting Black men’s voting rights and … Continue reading Class Notes →

Many of the stories that we know about George Washington are unfortunately not true.  After Washington’s death, an author named Parson Weems became concerned that the youth were growing up not knowing Washington and that he might be forgotten.  To help connect the youth to Washington he wrote a book that told stories of him … Continue reading Class Notes →

In 1900, the new century did not bring in new politics as the election that year was the exact same as the 1896 Election, McKinley V Bryan.  The only difference were the V.Ps.  The Democrats this time went with Adlai Stevenson to pacify the old school Cleveland Democrats who were not so excited about the … Continue reading Class Notes →

There are three times that the Constitution, as it was originally written, mentions slavery. Note however, that the word slavery was never used.  First, the 3/5th Clause allowed for three out of every five slaves to be used for population in determining the number of representatives from each state. Second, is the outlawing of the … Continue reading Class Notes →

When McKinley won the 1896 election it basically killed off the Populists Party, yet fusing with the Democrats did not help that party either. Republicans went on to hold the White House and most of Congress, with few exceptions until 1932. Silver, which had become such a large issue, and even tariffs would soon be … Continue reading Class Notes →

When the finished Constitution was first released for ratification by the states the clause that gave the people the most pause was Article II on the Executive.  The people were surprised how much power the president had and having just broken from a King they were not sure they could support a powerful president. Yet, … Continue reading Class Notes →

1892 was the first election where all states moved to a secret ballot. The effect of the secret ballot was that voting turnout began to fall.  1888 was a pinnacle of voter turnout with 80% and from that point there began a slow steady decline.  The question is why. It was mainly because with the … Continue reading Class Notes →

If Article I, Section I is the most ignored section of the Constitution then Article I, Section 8 has been the most fought over.  Section 8 states, “granting Congress the power to pass all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the enumerated list of powers.”  What this means has led to a split in … Continue reading Class Notes →

The Populists Party in the South is very interesting for a reason we do not tend to talk about.  As the South began to pass Jim Crow laws, they could only pass ones that did not go against the 14th and 15th Amendments.  In other words, they could not outlaw Blacks from voting because that … Continue reading Class Notes →

We are starting off this semester studying the Constitution.  What I think is the most important line in the entire document and is often the most forgotten comes from Article 1, Section 1.  It’s the first thing written, “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States.”  In other … Continue reading Class Notes →