For the winner, it’s the achievement of a lifetime. For the loser, not so much.
Richard Nixon, celebrating his election on Nov. 7, 1968, campaigned against a backdrop of racial inequality, civic unrest and polarized politics.
AFP via Getty Images
There are similarities between the law-and-order language used by the 1968 and 2020 presidential candidates and the racial tension and political polarization both years. But much is different.
This combination of Sept. 29, 2020, file photos show President Donald Trump, left, and former Vice President Joe Biden during the first presidential debate in Cleveland, Ohio.
(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The U.S. presidential election is again serving as a symptom and a symbol of a troubled society. Whatever the outcome, history suggests anything but a quick resolution to deeply rooted problems.
Senator Joe Biden at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., announcing a new crime bill in 2007.
Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP
Donald Trump claims to the the law-and-order candidate and accuses his rival of being “lax on security”. Joe Biden’s legislative record proves such accusations to be false.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows speaks to reporters about President Trump’s positive coronavirus test outside the White House on Oct. 2, 2020.
Drew Angerer/Getty
President Trump was direct in announcing he had COVID-19. But presidents in the past have been very good at deceiving the public about the state of their health. Which direction will Trump go now?
President Trump stressed law and order on a recent trip to Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
President Trump’s law-and-order campaign rhetoric has been compared to Richard Nixon’s and George Wallace’s similar themes in 1968. But such appeals go much further back, to the US in the early 1800s.
Trump has refused to say he will accept the outcome of the upcoming election.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Five of the six contested presidential elections in U.S. history were resolved and the country moved on – one ended in civil war. What will happen if the upcoming election is contested?
History should give Trump reasons for optimism. The presidential elections in 1968 and 1988 provide a template for Republican victory on a law-and-order platform in 2020.
The Bonus Army stages a demonstration at the empty Capitol on July 2, 1932.
Underwood and Underwood, photographers; Library of Congress
Marches, demonstrations, civic unrest, attacks by law enforcement and the military on protesting civilians: The parallels between the summer of 1932 and what is happening currently are striking.
Long before COVID-19, central banks were lining their stores for winter.
Canada and the United States share a border and other geographical ties. But the coronavirus has underscored the need to ease our dependence on the U.S. Niagara Falls, Ont., is seen from the American side of the falls.
(Pixabay)
With COVID-19 radicalizing the already radical presidency of Donald Trump, Canada may be forced to confront its dependence on the U.S. more directly and with greater urgency.
The first Earth Day in 1972 spurred other countries to support global environmental action.
Callista Images/Getty
April 22, 2020 is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, which catalyzed action to protect the environment not just in the US but internationally.
George and Laura Elmore (left) voting after wining a landmark case ending white-only primaries in South Carolina.
University of South Carolina Civil Rights Center
South Carolina’s black community has a long history of fighting for democratic rights.
President Donald Trump holds up a newspaper to show a headline that reads, ‘Acquitted,’ at the 68th annual National Prayer Breakfast, in Washington D.C..
AP Photo/ Evan Vucci
Diane Winston, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
The National Prayer Breakfast has been a time to forge friendships. But, as a scholar says, Trump used it to praise his accomplishments, malign his enemies, and thank God for being on his side.
Trump hugs the American flag at a 2019 convention of political conservatives.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
President Trump’s impeachment defense that the will of the president is no different from the will of the state and the good of the people has echoes in the decline of ancient Rome’s democracy.
The U.S. Capitol, where the vote to impeach President Trump is expected to take place.
AP/J. Scott Applewhite
The impeachment vote is the latest, and most extreme, example of a power struggle between the executive branch and Congress that has existed since George Washington was president.
Host Jack Barry, middle, is flanked by contestants on ‘21,’ a 1950s TV game show.
Orlando Fernandez/New York World-Telegram and Sun/Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons
Volcker’s legacy involves more than fighting inflation – he showed why central banks need to remain free of meddling from politicians, including the president.
Congress and President Trump are engaged in a power struggle that historically has been avoided by the courts.
AP/J. Scott Applewhite
President Trump refuses to provide information to lawmakers in the impeachment inquiry. But courts have been reluctant to take such cases for fear of upsetting the government’s balance of power.