Party Politics: Two Political Parties Emerge During Washington's Administration
There was no plan for a party system in the early days of the United States. It was thought there would be so many different factions that no one faction would survive. To the surprise of the citizens, two parties--the Federalists favoring a strong ...
Party Politics: Party Activists More Extreme than Majority of Party Members
People who are activists in both the Republican and Democrat parties are more extreme than the American public in general. Republicans leaders are more conservative; Democrats more liberal. As a result there has been a general decline in public supp...
Living Constitution, The: Amending and Interpreting the Constitution
The Constitution changes more through interpretation than through the formal amendment process, although there have been periods when numbers of amendments have been passed in a short period of time. The language of the Constitution tends to be very...
Fallout: Sources of the Red Scare
The Korean War strengthens anti-communist fervor within U.S. The two greatest anti-radical movements in U.S. history occur at end of the two world wars, some of the ideological excesses of wartime spilling over into the post war period. After World ...
Hard Times: Ordeal of President Hoover, The
Herbert Hoover begins his presidency in March of 1929 believing, like most Americans, that the nation faces a bright and prosperous future. The economic crisis that begins before the year is over forces him to deal with a very different set of probl...
Taking the Offensive: Seeds of U. S.-Russian Conflict Visible at War's End, The
As the war concludes, Japan is to be demilitarized, democratized, and decentralized. Stalin had agreed at Yalta to enter the Pacific war three months after European fighting was concluded. The United States would have welcomed Soviet involvement if ...
Determined to be Heard: Liberalism and the Civil Rights Movements of 1960s and 1970s
As a result of the various Civil Rights Movements of the late 1960s and 1970s, conservatives and liberals further define their ideology. Democrats continue to advocate minority rights and Republicans assert the aims of an older America for greater u...
Pressure Politics: Interest-group Society, An
The history of the nation is full of examples of people with shared beliefs coming together to influence the rules by which we are governed. America is an interest-group society. From the time of the Boston tea party to the civil rights movement and...
Pressure Politics: How Big Business Promotes Its Agenda
The financial resources of big business allow them to organize mass numbers of people, hire experienced lobbyists and researchers, and support congressmen friendly to their causes. Consequently, the overall success of their efforts is often greater ...
Hard Times: Interregnum and Early Days of Roosevelt's First Term, The
Before Roosevelt's inauguration, two events are noteworthy: the unsuccessful assassination attempt on the president-elect's life and Roosevelt's rejection of Hoover's proposal to work together on how the economy will be managed. As president, Roosev...