In his remarks on Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial, Senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) called for his fellow legislators to censure the president. "Censure would allow this body to unite across party lines," Manchin argued, "and as an equal branch of government to formally denounce the President's actions and hold him accountable." While there appears … Continue reading A Precedent for Presidential Censure
A Primer on Presidential Impeachment
As I wrap up teaching the first part of the U.S. survey, we’ve been talking about President Andrew Johnson’s impeachment. Because of the current impeachment inquiry into President Trump, my students were very interested in learning more about the impeachment process. I wanted to share some of what we’ve been talking about. The first thing … Continue reading A Primer on Presidential Impeachment
John Quincy Adams’ Take on Trump’s Wall
I came across a quote recently that piqued my curiosity. In discussing immigration, the author credited John Quincy Adams with writing the following statement while secretary of state: The American Republic invites nobody to come. We will keep out nobody. Arrivals will suffer no disadvantages as aliens. But they can expect no advantages either. Native-born … Continue reading John Quincy Adams’ Take on Trump’s Wall
Brief Review: Joshua Green, The Devil’s Bargain
If you want a quick, readable overview that explains how Donald Trump won the presidency, I highly recommend Joshua Green's Devil's Bargain. It's an even-handed take, offering criticism of nearly everyone: Bannon, Trump, Clinton, etc. I kept pretty close tabs on the campaign, but even I didn't realize how all of the pieces came together … Continue reading Brief Review: Joshua Green, The Devil’s Bargain
The 7th Annniversary of Jacksonian America
Once again, this blog's anniversary caught me by surprise. It's been a busy year, with Donald Trump and the Van Buren Papers taking up a lot of space. Thank you for reading, and I hope you like the site redesign.
Would Andrew Jackson Have Prevented the Civil War?
Yesterday, I addressed Donald Trump's statements about Andrew Jackson and the Civil War. A lot of other historians since then have jumped in to lament Trump's historical ignorance, a view I sympathize with. Trump wasn't satisfied to let the criticism go and took to the Twitter machine to reinforce his historical analysis: https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/859209801175269376 Whether Jackson would … Continue reading Would Andrew Jackson Have Prevented the Civil War?
Is Donald Trump Right About Andrew Jackson and the Civil War?
In an interview with Salena Zito airing today, President Donald Trump makes a couple of curious observations about Andrew Jackson and the Civil War. As others have observed, Trump has trouble with verb tenses, and his grasp of history is rudimentary and often grossly inaccurate (here, here, and here). Both of these weaknesses are apparent in this interview. … Continue reading Is Donald Trump Right About Andrew Jackson and the Civil War?
Trump’s Visit to The Hermitage
I had the good fortune of spending a couple of days at The Hermitage this week. On Tuesday evening, the Andrew Jackson Foundation premiered its new visitor film. It is a much more visually exciting film than the previous version, and it generally treats Old Hickory positively. On Wednesday, I returned to the site to … Continue reading Trump’s Visit to The Hermitage
Donald Trump Is Not a Twenty-First Century Andrew Jackson
I've written about the Trump-Jackson comparison several times (here, here, and here), so when I was asked to contribute a piece on it to the OAH's The American Historian, I took the opportunity to bring together my thoughts into something more coherent than a blog post. You can read the entire American Historian piece, but … Continue reading Donald Trump Is Not a Twenty-First Century Andrew Jackson
I Believe Donald Trump
I have been a lifelong Republican. While I have voted for Democrats on the local and state levels, I cast my vote for Republican presidential candidates from 1996 on: Dole, Bush (2xs), McCain, and Romney. This year, I voted for Hillary Clinton. Why? Because I believe Donald Trump. I believe Trump when he says that … Continue reading I Believe Donald Trump
Jacksonian America: Society, Personality, and Politics 