American Politics Commons^™

Kelley, Oliver Hudson, 1826-1913 (Sc 3461), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3461. Letter, 1 July 1886, of O. H. Kelley, Carrabelle, Florida, with forms and instructions relating to organization of a Subordinate Branch of the Golden Sheaf, a proposed political offshoot of the Patrons of Husbandry (the Grange).

Tennessee's Promise: Education For All?, Tristan M. Hightower

Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee

Access to education has been at the forefront of public policy issues over the past several years. In order to combat relatively low rates of college attainment, Tennessee legislators implemented the Tennessee Promise program. It operates by providing financial aid for any direct costs not covered by students’ grants and scholarships. Notably, the program is not applicable to four-year degree programs; students wishing to utilize the funds must attend select schools that offer certificates and associate’s degrees. Community colleges are the most popular. While a boost in community college attendance has occurred, and more people will likely graduate with an …

New Deal, 1933-1939 - Relating To (Sc 3459), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 3459. Letter, 4 May 1943, of South Carolina Congressman H. P. Fulmer to E. M. Biggers, Houston, Texas, challenging Biggers to justify his “statement” concerning federal agencies created under the “Roosevelt New Deal Party”; and Biggers’ reply of 5 June 1943, a lengthy criticism of “these damnable Bureaus” as the creation of “fan-tailed theorists” and encroachments on American liberty. The two letters and a compilation of names of the “Alphabetical Agencies” (also included) are reproductions created by Biggers, the owner of a printing company, for public distribution.

A New-Old Way To Explore Civic Engagement: Learning From The Past, Peter A. Nagler, Harry Basehart

eJournal of Public Affairs

The authors propose that student-centered discussion and reflection on the attributes of good citizenship and the good citizen constitute an important way to promote civic engagement. The expectations of the Framers of the Constitution and the teachings of Western political thought both hold that active and responsible citizenship is vital to the life of the political community. In this article, the authors argue that a good citizen: (1) has a vision of what their country is and what it means; (2), is willing to sacrifice their private interests for the public good, or rather their notion of the public good; …

In Trump Era, Gop Leaders Lack Courage And Integrity, Evan Barrett

Highlands College

A newspaper column by Evan Barrett.

Published newspaper columns written by Evan Barrett on this topic, which vary somewhat in content from this commentary, appeared in the following publications:

Great Falls Tribune, July 22, 2019

Statesman Journal (Salem, OR), July 22, 2019

Havre Daily News, July 22, 2019

The Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH), July 22, 2019

The Montana Post, July 26, 2019

Daily Interlake, July 28, 2019

USA Today, July 22, 2019

Missoula Current, July, 29, 2019

The Missoulian, August 2, 2019

Montana Standard, August 2, 2019

Helena Independent Record, August 9, …

The Tea Party: Burgeoning Or Beaten?, Philip Olsen, Alexa Robinson

Augsburg Honors Review

The Tea Party is a grassroots political movement which has gained a considerable following since its inception in 2009.Its platform centers on a single issue -- greater fiscal responsibility and conservatism on the part of each respective level of government. In this paper we examine the question of whether or not the Tea Party will develop into a viable political entity. We concluded early on in the process of researching this paper that extensive statistical analysis would only be a fruitless endeavor because of the contemporaneity of the Tea Party movement. Any figures we might choose to use stood the …

The Trump Administration Wants To Dismantle The Agency Overseeing 2 Million Federal Workers – And Weaken Safeguards Against Partisanship, Matthew May

University Author Recognition Bibliography: 2019

The U.S. government has put expertise and competence ahead of political considerations when it hires people for more than 135 years.

As a result of changes made during President Chester Arthur’s administration, the vast majority of government jobs can only be awarded on the basis of merit. Prospective employees historically had to complete a competitive exam and today must complete detailed applications, undergo interviews and get their background checked. Employees also cannot be fired or demoted for political reasons.

These rules apply to all but about 4,000 politically appointed employees among the 2 million people who work for the federal …

Immigrants Or Elites?: Contextualizing The Motivation Of The Rural American Vote In The Trump Era, Annika Johnson

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

The rural American vote was central to Donald Trump’s presidential victory in 2016. In an attempt to unpack the strongest motivators for rural Americans who voted for Trump, analyses explored the importance of anti-immigrant and anti-elite sentiment using a subset of rural participants in the 2016 American National Elections Study. Through a combination of quantitative data work, qualitative case studies and an extensive literature review, it was found that both anti-immigrant and anti-elite sentiments are indicators of a vote for Trump. However, the research and analyses suggest anti-immigrant sentiment is a stronger indicator.

Overruling Mcculloch?, Mark A. Graber

Arkansas Law Review

Daniel Webster warned Whig associates in 1841 that the Supreme Court would likely declare unconstitutional the national bank bill that Henry Clay was pushing through the Congress. This claim was probably based on inside information. Webster was a close association of Justice Joseph Story. The justices at this time frequently leaked word to their political allies of judicial sentiments on the issues of the day. Even if Webster lacked first-hand knowledge of how the Taney Court would probably rule in a case raising the constitutionality of the national bank, the personnel on that tribunal provided strong grounds for Whig pessimism. …

M'Culloch In Context, Mark R. Killenbeck

Arkansas Law Review

M’Culloch v. Maryland is rightly regarded as a landmark opinion, one that affirmed the ability of Congress to exercise implied powers, articulated a rule of deference to Congressional judgments about whether given legislative actions were in fact “necessary,” and limited the ability of the states to impair or restrict the operations of the federal government. Most scholarly discussions of the case and its legacy emphasize these aspects of the decision. Less common are attempts to place M’Culloch within the ebb and flow of the Marshall Court and the political and social realities of the time. So, for example, very few …

The Confusing Language Of Mcculloch V. Maryland: Did Marshall Really Know What He Was Doing (Or Meant)?, Sanford Levinson

Arkansas Law Review

All legal “interpretation” involves confrontation with inherently indeterminate language. I have distinguished in my own work between what I call the Constitution of Settlement and the Constitution of Conversation. The former includes those aspects of the Constitution that do indeed seem devoid of interpretive challenge, such as the unfortunate assignment of two senators to each state or the specification of the terms of office of representatives, senators, and presidents. I am quite happy to concede that “two,” “four,” and “six” have determinate meaning, though my concession is not based on a fancy theory of linguistics. It is, rather, a recognition …

Belle La Follette’S Fight For Women’S Suffrage: Losing The Battle For Wisconsin, Winning The War For The Nation, Nancy C. Unger

History

A century ago, on May 21, 1919, the US House of Representatives voted difinitively (304 to 89) in support of women’s suffrage. Two weeks later, Wisconsinite Belle La Follette sat in the visitors’ gallery of the US Senate chamber. She “shed a few tears” when it was announced that, by a vote of 56 to 25, the US Senate also approved the Nineteenth Amendment, sending it on to the states for ratification.¹ For Belle La Follette, this thrilling victory was the culmination of a decades-long fight. Six days later, her happiness turned to elation when Wisconsin became the first …

Standing Up Against Racial Discrimination: Progressive Americans And The Chinese Exclusion Act In The Late Nineteenth Century, Wenxian Zhang

Faculty Publications

The passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act is a dark chapter in the immigration history of the United States. In contrast to the overwhelming “Yellow Peril” literature of the time, the outcries of mistreated Chinese were few and far between, as they had little recourse against their accusers. This article attempts to identify the rare voices of Chinese Americans and recognizes the bold vision and noble endeavors of some progressive Americans during the Exclusion Era of the late nineteenth century. Throughout the national debates on the Chinese Exclusion Act, a minority of Americans stood up in support of Chinese immigrants, …

Engineering Mankind: The Sociopolitical Impact Of Eugenics In America, Megan Lee

Voces Novae

During the early twentieth century, the American eugenics movement prospered, spreading its influence within the sociopolitical framework of the United States. The notion of eugenics – the control of human breeding to increase desirable traits, was extensively propagated through the creation of sterilization laws and public programs. Eventually, the public came to view eugenics as a necessity in order to preserve and improve the quality of mankind for the future.

Media Discourses That Normalize Colonial Relations: A Critical Discourse Analysis Of (Im)Migrants And Refugees, Meng Zhao, Jorge Rodriguez, Lilia D. Monzó

Education Faculty Articles and Research

The im(migration) and refugee crisis that are being exacerbated under the Trump administration, is a manifestation of empire-building and the long history of colonization of the Global South. A Marxist-humanist perspective recognizes these as consistent aspects of a clearly racist global capitalism that functions in the interest of multibillion dollar U.S.–based corporations and increasingly transnational corporations. Trade agreements, international economic policy, political intervention, invasion or the threat of these, often secure corporate interests in specific countries and regions. The authors use critical discourse analysis to examine the discourses around Mexican, Central American, and Syrian im(migrants) and refugees as examples of …

Analysis Of An Inner City Community College And Public School District: The City Of Highland Park District Project, Abdelkhalek Elagamy

Augsburg Honors Review

Highland Park, Michigan, is a city rich with twentieth century history, from the automobile revolution of Henry Ford to the historic landmarks that early immigrants created in wake of the elusive and lucrative American Dream. However, Highland Park is a city today that is characterized by extreme poverty, unemployment, and crime. The City of Highland Park District project is a sociological approach to the study of a selected inner city district in the United States, which was the City of Highland Park, Michigan. This research study is comprised of two sections of detailed analysis regarding the effects of inner city …

The Religious Impact: Understanding The Influence Of Religiosity On Attitudes Toward Policy Issues, Angela Farizo Mccarthy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to shed light on the influence of religion on Americans’ attitudes toward policy concerns. How do denominational affiliation, religious participation, and religious beliefs influence one’s views on social and/or economic policies? I consider the impact of religious belonging, religious behaving, and religious believing—also known as the “3B’s” – on public opinion toward contemporary issues in the United States. In this comprehensive analysis, I discover the importance of including the religious dimensions in models of public policy attitudes. The first part of this project is to outline the current state of the literature and present …

Party Blight In Rural Missouri: Causes And Consequences Of Local Organizational Decline, Joseph Anthony

Dissertations

Political parties are fundamental institutions to representative democracies, and they have been an integral part of the American political fabric since the early 1800s. Changes in the political landscape have pressed social scientists to engage in a now long-running academic debate as to whether political parties are in a state of reform and adaptation in the modern campaign environment, or if they are in an overall state of decline. While there has been considerable attention given to national and state party organizations, very little is known about how local party organizations are faring in the modern campaign environment. This dissertation …

A New Campaign Strategy Informed By Pragmatism: Running On A Platform Of Expanding Voting Accessibility, Aaron Martin, Zoe B. Pidgeon, Robert Calimente, Alexandra D'Antonio, Albi Taipi

Honors Scholarly Publications

Voter disillusionment is commonplace in the United States, with many eligible voters either choosing not to or altogether unable to exercise their right to vote. To the former, in 2016 alone, nearly 40 percent of eligible voters did not vote. Although it is an issue that extends to the health of a democracy, voting itself is not one that is central to campaign platforms, with candidates running on more high-profile issues such as healthcare or the economy. A solution to voter disillusionment is for pragmatically minded candidates to organize their campaigns around voter expansion as a means to build winning …

God And Governance: Reflections On Living In The Belly Of The Beast, Peter Mclaren

Education Faculty Articles and Research

In this critical rage article, Peter McLaren unleashes his revolutionary critique aimed at capitalist injustice behind postdigital socio-technological developments, historical forms of injustice such as racism and colonialism, and recent political events and developments including but not limited to US interventions in Latin America and the presidency of Donald Trump. Rising from two important prongs of McLaren’s work—revolutionary critical pedagogy and liberation theology—the article connects myth, religion, science, politics, technology, and humanity. The article reveals McLaren’s most intimate thoughts and experiences and aligns them with sophisticated theory and philosophy. It dances between the individual and the collective, the realistic and …