Political History

During his historic run for the White House, Barack Obama has been compared to an impressive range of Presidents. His oratory reminds some of Kennedy, his paeans to national greatness evoke Reagan and the postpartisan themes of his campaign bring to mind Bill Clinton.

But if one looks at Obama's campaign in a larger historical context, the most apt comparison may be Franklin Roosevelt. At a time when the nation was hungry for real solutions to serious national challenges, FDR understood… more

"The United States stand at this moment at the summit of the world," Winston Churchill said in 1945. "I rejoice that this should be so. Let them act up to the level of their power and their responsibility, not for themselves but for others, for all men in all lands, and then a brighter day may dawn upon human history." It's been a long time since American foreign policy has elicited that kind of hosanna from abroad, and a… more

If you think our country has engaged in shameful wars of choice, drifted from our Constitutional moorings and generally failed to live up to our self-proclaimed role as the world's guarantor of liberty, you may be right. But which century are you talking about?

According to historian Ted Widmer, a former adviser and speechwriter for President Bill Clinton, the America of lofty ideals about freedom and human rights has always had one stubborn enemy: itself.

Throughout this valuable history of the ideas that have shaped American foreign policy,… more

...a belief in American exceptionalism and its accompanying missionary outlook -- is a recurring theme in Ted Widmer's Ark of the Liberties. "In many ways," he asserts, "we still live in Wilson's world." Whereas Wilson "is often given credit for inventing a new way of thinking about U.S. foreign policy, it is probably more accurate to say that he tapped into old feelings that had never entirely disappeared" ... Ark of the Liberties is in part a search for the roots of those Wilsonian impulses, which… more

According to the film “National Treasure,” the Declaration of Independence is a document of such far-seeing sagacity that it has secret codes and treasure maps hidden in the parchment. You just have to know how to look for them. But that poses the question: which document, precisely, is the Declaration of Independence?

Most of us would answer that it’s the manuscript written on vellum, dated July 4, 1776, now displayed in a baroque case at the National Archives, where it is… more

Grand New Party lays bare the failures of the conservative revolution and presents a detailed blueprint for building the next Republican majority. Blending history, analysis, and fresh, often controversial recommendations, Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam argue that it is time to move beyond the Reagan legacy and the mind-set of the current Republican power structure.

In a concise examination of recent political trends, the authors show that the Democrats' cultural liberalism makes their party inherently hostile to the interests and values… more

In this collection of 27 of the most influential presidential campaign speeches of the twentieth century, Michael A. Cohen brings to life the words that have shaped American politics over the last century. From the legendary, like William Jennings Bryan's "Cross of Gold" and Ronald Reagan's call for a "national crusade to make America great again"; to the infamous, including Richard Nixon's maudlin "Checkers" speech and Bill Clinton's rhetorical broadside against the rapper Sister Souljah; to the poignant, such as… more

The United States stands at a historic crossroads; essential to the world yet unappreciated. America’s decline in popularity over the last eight years has been nothing short of astonishing. With wit, brilliance, and deep affection, Ted Widmer, a scholar and a former presidential speechwriter, reminds everyone why this great nation had so far to fall. In a sweeping history of centuries, Ark of the Liberties recounts America’s ambition to be the world’s guarantor of liberty. It is a… more

Interviewing Rick Perlstein, author of the mega-book Nixonland, Mark Hemingway of National Review lamented recently that "liberal or popular historians don't seem to be very interested in conservative history and ideology."

Perlstein answered politely, but the correct response would have been, "What planet are you living on?" Indeed, the legend of the rise of the right -- as told by and to the left -- has become the defining narrative of our political experience. I shouldn't admit this, but I probably… more

Schwartz Fellow

Christopher Hayes is the Washington D.C. Editor of The Nation. Since 2002, he has been reporting and writing on politics, economics, and labor for a wide variety of independent publications. His essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in The Nation, The American Prospect, The New Republic, The Washington Monthly, The Guardian, and The Chicago Reader. From… more