Yes, the Civil War brought an end to the slave order of the South and the rule of the plantation oligarchs who embodied white supremacy. But the Northern victory was short lived — Southern ideals spread quickly to the West. It's all about America’s ongoing battle between oligarchy and democracy.

A historian reminds us that to truly “make America great again” we must enhance freedom, equality and democracy, not diminish them.

Donald Trump thinks his intuition is better than knowledge of the past. That's dangerous for him and all the rest of us.

The election results may have been different had Democrats embraced America's past and its radical imperative of freedom, equality and democracy.

On Saturday, Donald Trump made a speech in Gettysburg that was nothing like President Abraham Lincoln's revered one. Michael Winship imagines the speech Trump might have delivered in Lincoln's day.

Donald Trump's 2nd Amendment comment is no longer about civility, decency or even temperament. This is a direct threat of violence against a political rival.

"There is nothing to stop a president from initiating action, even if unconstitutional," one scholar observes.

Where do the Republican presidential contenders stand on the issue of voter suppression?

In recent years, the phrase “American exceptionalism,” at once resonant and ambiguous, has stolen into popular usage in electoral politics with a profligacy that is hard to account for.

Before embracing divisive politics, the Republicans had been closely aligned with the cause of civil rights and had been supporters of equal justice.