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 →

Stephen Kinzer, All the Shaw’s Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror, John Wiley and Sons, 2008 In 1953, there was an interesting and tragic event that occurred in Iran that hardly any Americans know anything about, but yet almost every Iranian does.  The year before the tragedy, the very popular … Continue reading Book Review →

In many ways during the 1960s the fight against authority or “the Man” started in colleges.  They were seen as a microcosm of the larger issues the students felt they were facing.  In the 1960s, colleges still functioned as “In Loco Parentis,” or replacing the role of parents when the students were under their care.  … Continue reading Class Notes →

By the 1830s, the new way of practicing politics was firmly entrenched as the Democrats and Whigs were now decisively legitimized. This new period of party politics will last until the 1890s, even though some of the names will change.  This is the heyday of party politics with voter turnout reaching as high as 80%.  … Continue reading Class Notes →

After the USS Maddox was attacked while trying to intercept radio transmissions, President Johnson went to Congress asking for a resolution to allow him to begin engaging the North Vietnamese.  The measure called the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed with only two senators opposing.  It gave the president carte blanche authority to conduct the … Continue reading Class Notes →

The 1836 election was important because it was going to show if parties could ultimately work.  1836 was the first election after Andrew Jackson and the test was to see if the Democratic Party was strong enough to allow the party to mandate the nomination of Martin Van Buren.  Van Buren was not a strong … Continue reading Class Notes →

In 1954, Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese were able to push the French out of Vietnam. With the French out, the nation was divided into northern and southern halves.  The plan was for an election in 1956 that would unify the nation.  The issue for America was that Minh would probably win the election … Continue reading Class Notes →