Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Commentary: California Secessionists Channel Logic Of Southern Slaveholders, Allen C. Guelzo, James H. Hulme

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

'Thursday night the streets were filled with excited crowds. No one talks of anything but the necessity for prompt action. . . . It is hardly prudent for any man to express his opinion adverse to immediate secession, so heated are the public passions, so intolerant of restraint is the popular will."

You would probably assume that this report came from California in the wake of the 2016 election, right? After all, Alex Padilla, the California secretary of state, has now authorized the Yes California Independence Campaign to begin collecting signatures for a state referendum on California's secession from the …

Commentary: Challenging Three Electoral College Indictments, Allen C. Guelzo, James H. Hulme

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

On the day the Electoral College met and elected Donald J. Trump the 45th president of the United States, the New York Times editorial board published a scathing attack on the Electoral College as an "antiquated mechanism" which "overwhelming majorities" of Americans would prefer to eliminate in favor of a direct national popular vote. [excerpt]

In Defense Of The Electoral College, Allen C. Guelzo, James H. Hulme

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

There is hardly anything in the Constitution harder to explain, or easier to misunderstand, than the Electoral College. And when a presidential election hands the palm to a candidate who comes in second in the popular vote but first in the Electoral College tally, something deep in our democratic viscera balks and asks why the Electoral College shouldn’t be dumped as a useless relic of 18th century white, gentry privilege. Actually, there have been only five occasions when a closely divided popular vote and the electoral vote have failed to point in the same direction. No matter. After last week’s …

How Will We Heal?, William H. Lane

English Faculty Publications

How will we ever heal from our recent election? Isn't that what many Americans are asking at this point in time? Deadlines being what they have to be in order to keep a lively small town paper on track. I pose these questions while writing on Halloween Eve--appropriately enough given the current state of our politics--without knowing the results of the election. I don't know who won what exactly, but I do know our country lost, having been seriously damaged over the last year and a half by a presidential campaign without precedent in American history, and I do know …

The Lincoln-Douglas Solution, Allen C. Guelzo

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

No matter which of Monday night’s two candidates you think won or lost, the real loser was the debate itself. The physical environment of Hofstra’s Mack Center was surprisingly cramped and poorly lighted; the podiums made both candidates seem remote; and Lester Holt’s hapless management was repeatedly stampeded-over by the debaters and the audience. Both Trump and Clinton appeared to be playing parodies of themselves, Trump by turns meandering and furious, Clinton condescending and unimaginative. [excerpt]

Three Things Putin Will Love About Trump, William D. Bowman

History Faculty Publications

In less than a year, Donald Trump has moved from crass outsider to the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party. How could a candidate who seemed so unlikely not too long ago possibly become the next president of the United States? [excerpt]