From the Southwest Ledger By James Finck, Ph.D. The election of 1824 brought a massive change to how parties functioned in the U.S. The Jacksonian Age is highlighted by the growth of democracy. Whereas before only property-owning men could vote, by 1824 most states had dropped property requirements allowing all white men the vote. (Most … Continue reading History of American Political Parties, Part VI: The Rise of Jackson →

From the Southwest Ledger By James Finck, Ph.D. On the morning of Oct 7, the nation of Israel was attacked by rocket fire coming from the Gaza Strip in southern Israel. The missile attacks acted as a screen as thousands of Hamas militants viciously attacked towns and cities in southern Israel killing more than 1,000 … Continue reading Hamas: A History of Violence →

From the Southwest Ledger By James Finck, Ph.D. Over the years I have written about the election of 1800 many times in my columns; it is my favorite election because it is the most important. Suffice to say it was the first time the nation had a change at the top, from Federalist to Jeffersonian … Continue reading History of American Political Parties, Part V: An Era of Good Feelings →

By James Finck, Ph.D. While the writers’ strike in Hollywood has captured the nation’s attention out of fear that our favorite shows might be delayed, a potentially more important strike is the one in Michigan with the United Auto Workers striking against General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. While losing our favorite shows is hard, shutting … Continue reading Standing in a picket line may not makeBiden the most pro-union president →

From the South West Ledger By James Finck, Ph.D. While political parties officially started under the George Washington administration with the introduction of Alexander Hamilton’s economic plan, they really took root when Washington stepped down leading to the first contested election in 1796. They organized for the first time as parties to nominated candidates for … Continue reading History of American Political Parties, Part IV: The First American Party System →

Many of you are probably like me and feel fall is the best of the seasons. With fall, the heat starts to break with cooler temperatures. The fall foliage is amazing, especially where I grew up in Virginia. We get to celebrate Halloween and Thanksgiving, but mostly of all we get football. I love college … Continue reading With conference realignment, are many football rivalries history? →

By James Finck, Ph.D. What we now call the First American Party System was birthed over an economic crisis and two huge personalities. During Washington’s presidency the economy ranked as one of his most important issues. The new nation and the individual states faced series debt from the Revolution both from foreign nations and American … Continue reading History of American Political Parties, Part III: Birthing a Party System →

From the Southwest Ledger On Aug. 11 police in Marion, Kansas, raided the office of The Marion County Record as well as the homes of the paper’s publisher and a city counselor member. Police confiscated computers, cell phones and files from the small-town newspaper. The police chief, Gideon Cody, cited an illegal records search of … Continue reading Freedom of the Press Trials Arose Before Independence →

From the Southwest Ledger By James Finck, Ph.D. What is interesting about studying political parties is that there are no founding documents that set rules for how they behave or what their function should be. For most political issues, I like to start with the U.S. Constitution. While there are disagreements over interpretation, there is … Continue reading History of American Political Parties,Part II: The Necessary Evils of Parties →

From the Southwest Ledger By James Finck, Ph.D. With all the political fighting in our nation, I feel Willie and Waylon need to rerelease their hit song about Luckenbach, Texas, with a new chorus that says we are feuding like the Democratsand Republicans. In fact, it seems as though political affiliation or left or right … Continue reading A History of American Political Parties, Part I: Classical Liberalism, Conservatism →