The irrepressible conflict-1860
Background: As we all know, it's election season and perhaps no election cycle had more political significance than 1860. With the country deeply divided over slavery, current President James Buchanan was not doing much to stop it. In fact, his actions only exacerbated extremism and divided the Democratic party. The events at Bleeding Kansas and the corrupt Lecompton Constitution left the Democrats without their incumbent as a viable candidate. The newly formed Republicans, however, had problems of their own. In just their second party convention ever, the party formerly known as the Free Soilers had to find a way to win at the national level. They were seen by many in the South as extremists who threatened the institution of slavery altogether. Republicans were vehemently opposed to the extension of slavery in the new territories but they had to evolve into a fuller platform. A former war hero, John C. Fremont, could not get the job done in 1856 so there was pressure to court former Whig voters and win an election this time in 1860. What Happened? 10,000 delegates crowded into a makeshift meeting hall in Chicago, Illinois to pick the Republican nominee for President but the difficulties were evident from the start. Only three slave-owning states even attended the convention and their keynote speaker was David Wilmot, whose Provisio had gained notoriety for trying to ban slavery in the territory won by the Mexican-American War. Ten men would have their name brought forward for the nomination but the front-runner was clearly William Seward of New York. When the votes began on this day 156 years ago, Seward led the first round of voting by over 70 votes compared to his nearest competitor. Yet two rounds later he plummeted and the nominating process was over. How did this happen? 1. The convention took place in Illinois, the home state of nominee Abraham Lincoln. He and his closest allies had the infrastructure in place to campaign for votes and they did passionately. Lincoln's status as a "Western" candidate was key. Many knew that the Democrats had little chance of winning any Northern states after their support of the Lecompton Constitution and the Dred Scott decision so they key would be the Midwest. To win the Republicans needed to pick up the moderate faction, which bleeds into reason 2... 2. Seward was viewed as an extremist by many. Seward and his wife housed slaves as a "station" in the Underground Railroad. As a Senator he fought vigorously against the Kansas-Nebraska Bill which would have potentially opened up slavery in the area. He even once said he feared an "irrepressible conflict" was emerging on the issue of slavery. He also had fallen out of favor with the Know-Nothings, a political third party known for their xenophobia but were a key constituent group in creating a winning coalition in 1860. Lincoln, on the other hand, was a late-comer to the Republican Party. He had attacked the idea of racial equality during the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates and seemed far more reasonable to moderates at the time. So, with some slick political maneuvering and a vulnerable front-runner, the Republican cast their fate with Lincoln on this day. Who Cares? Oh let me count the ways... 1. Lincoln goes on to be the most famous President of all-time, Seward goes on to...buy Alaska (affectionately known as "Seward's Folly"). 2. Lincoln becomes known as the Great Emancipator, when Seward had done far more on the issue of abolition up to this point in history. 3. The Republican Party finds legitimacy. What if they had picked New Yorker Seward and the Democrats had squeaked out a Midwestern state or two? Lincoln had only carried 40% of the popular vote when November came along. An electoral mess would have been solved in the House of Representatives which could have further complicated matters. Instead the Republican Party not only finds the White House but their hero. To the victor go the spoils.
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Separate is inherently unequal-1954
Background: Linda Brown was a third-grader who wanted to go to Sumner Elementary school in Topeka, Kansas but she could not. Why? The color of her skin. Brown started a journey that culminated in six combined court cases all dealing with the same issue, can people be barred from public education because of their skin color? Is the 1896 ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson that "separate but equal facilities" (which was on May 188th coincidentally) were acceptable actually acceptable? This four-year journey swept up other intelligent, ambitious African American students across America, including Dorothy E. Davis of Prince Edward County, Virginia and culminated in the hallowed halls of the Supreme Court. Nine white men decided to settle the issue once and for all in the spring of 1954. What Happened? In a startling landmark decision, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 to overturn the infamous Plessy v. Ferguson decision. Their proclamation was that "separate facilities were inherently unequal" This sent shockwaves throughout the country. Reaction varied from mass celebrations to outright massive resistance to a perceived federal overreach. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the lead decision in a scathing opinion that proclaimed that segregation had instinctively created a stigma and badge of inferiority on African Americans. Who Cares? Once again the consequences were plentiful on this one. 1. The NAACP officially had their strategy to fight for Civil Rights, through the courts. With Congress mired by white Southern Democrats and an Oval Office most concerned with maintaining the "culture of consensus", the courts appeared to be the best vehicle for change. For years the legal team had pecked away at old Jim Crow but this bite launched what is officially known as "The Civil Rights Movement". 2. Thurgood Marshall, the lead lawyer, becomes a legend and this win will ultimately propel him to become the first African American Supreme Court judge. 3. This decision launched the career of the most famous judicial activist Earl Warren. Just appointed to the board less than a year earlier, Warren used is political background to campaign for votes on this key decision and guarantee a 9-0 decision to try to suppress dissent nationally. Warren would go on to give pretty much all the landmark cases of the 20th century including Miranda v. Arizona, Mapp v. Ohio, Tinker v. Des Moines and so much more. No judge has written more decisions about civil rights and civil liberties than Warren. 4. Unfortunately, Brown v. Board of Education would contain one fundamental flaw: it lacked a timeline for implementation. That oversight was so obvious that it forced the court to clarify its decision months later it what was known as Brown v. Board II. In it, the court said that the states should take "all deliberate speed" when implementing integration. This wishy-washy phrase gave rise to massive resistance. Public schools throughout the South shut down, private schools emerged, home schooling went up and the fight over school boundary lines raged up until today. As much as we celebrate this day we must acknowledge the limitations, as evidenced by this article. The Trial of the Century: 1868 Background: There is a certain aura associated with the title President of the United States, but that mystique fades when you're on trial in front of the American people. President Andrew Johnson inherited a tough situation when he was thrust into the Oval Office following Abraham Lincoln's assassination. His leniency to the South during Reconstruction made him Public Enemy No. 1 to the so-called Radical Republicans of Congress and the following 2.5 years resulted in a bitter political tug-of-war. In a move reeking of hubris, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act. This unconstitutional law said that the President could not fire a Cabinet member without Congressional approval, I suppose the logic went that since the Senate had to approve nominees they must also have a voice in their termination. Still, this move was clearly little more than a power play to show the country who really had the power in D.C. With a two-thirds majority, the Radical Republicans were more than willing to override any Presidential veto that came their way. Johnson, also overtaken by pride, decided to channel his almost namesake, Andrew Jackson. Rather than simply waiting for the Supreme Court to settle this constitutional question, he fired the Secretary of War out of spite. His reward for his bold move, an impeachment trial. The President of the United States was now being charged and drawn up like a common criminal before the entire nation in the chambers of the Senate. This spectacle began in late February 1868. What happened? After all the deliberations, the Senate voted on this day 152 years ago on the first charge of the impeachment. Johnson may have lost 35-19 but the total fell one shy of the two-thirds needed to physically remove Johnson from office. This decision stemmed from a partial fear over having a new President who was not elected in any capacity by the American people (cough*Ford*cough) and also a realization that Congress may have overstepped their bounds. Regardless of the reason, Congress saved Johnson the embarrassment of having to pack his bags and run home but the damage was done. Johnson finished out his final 10 months in disgrace as the lamest of lame duck Presidents. Who Cares? This moment matters for several reasons. 1. Gilded Age Presidents are particularly weak, partially out of philosophy but also because of fear in Congressional reprisals. It helps account for the overall weakness and ineffectiveness of Presidents until Teddy Roosevelt in 1901. 2. The Radical Republicans, who had done such good for the freed blacks after the Civil War, now look petty and power hungry to the American people. They had misplayed their hand and their attempted coup hamstrung them moving forward in their Reconstruction goals. 3. Being impeached is a stigma that does not go away, just ask Bill Clinton. It hangs over you like an albatross. 4. We are fascinated by celebrity trials, I can't wait for this FX series on this. |
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May 2016
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