For many voters, wearing political paraphernalia is their personal connection to a candidate. On April 30, 1789, enthusiastic onlookers filled the streets, dangled out of windows, and perched on rooftops to catch a glimpse of George Washington as he made his way through the streets of New York to Federal Hall to assume the new[…]
“As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people.” On June 20, 1948, a round and no doubt rumpled correspondent for the Baltimore Sun looked into the galleries of a Philadelphia convention hall and spotted the future. His name was Henry Louis Mencken, and he didn’t like[…]
The changes the 20th century brought to American politics continue to hold true in the 21st century. Margaret O’Mara, associate professor of history at the University of Washington and author of Pivotal Tuesdays: Four Elections that Shaped the Twentieth Century (University of Pennsylvania Press) discussed the book and the four critical elections with writer Peter Kelley. I[…]
American presidential races have become drawn-out, years-long affairs. It wasn’t always this way. Introduction Four hundred and thirty-two days prior to the election and 158 days before the Iowa caucus, millions of Americans will tune in for the second round of Democratic debates. If this seems like a long time to contemplate the candidates, it[…]
New analyses of the rings reveal how and when they were made, from what and whether they’ll last. Introduction Many dream of what they would do had they a time machine. Some would travel 100 million years back in time, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Not many, though, would think of taking a telescope with[…]
We’re not exactly sure what the universe was up to in the first few nano-moments into the big bang. One of the most remarkable things a human being can say is this: about 13.77 billion years ago, our entire observable universe was compressed into the size of a peach and had a temperature of over[…]