Professor of History, Boston College

Politics

The Department of the Interior’s New Face

Deb Haaland represents a reckoning with the fossil fuel industry–and our history of mistreating indigenous people

March 17, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

_____ This week, the Senate confirmed the appointment of Representative Deb Haaland (D-NM) as Secretary of the Interior Department. An impressive woman in her own right, Haaland embodies the determination of the new administration to use the government for the good of all Americans, rather than for special interests. This makes ...

The Department of the Interior’s New Face

Uncategorized

Democracy Doesn’t Happen By Accident

Black Americans fought for the Voting Rights Act, and Joe Biden wants it back

March 11, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

_____ Black Americans outnumbered white Americans among the 29,500 people who lived in Selma, Alabama, in the 1960s, but the city’s voting rolls were 99% white. So in 1963, Black organizers in the Dallas County Voters League launched a drive to get Black voters in Selma registered. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating ...

Politics

Our Janus-Faced Political Culture

As the Biden administration moves into the future, conservatives are stuck in the past

March 4, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

_____ We’re in this weird eddy where Republicans are trying to cling to past politics to gain advantage and the Biden administration is trying to move forward into the future. On top of this struggle are stories about how the previous administration pushed the boundaries of our laws or, worse, broke ...

Columnists

This Is What Government Looks Like

As the winter’s Covid-19 surge pushes deaths past 500,000, the Biden administration focuses on policy

February 25, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

This week the United States passed the heartbreaking marker of 500,000 official deaths from COVID-19. President Biden held a ceremony to remember those lost, saying "On this solemn occasion, we reflect on their loss and on their loved ones left behind. We, as a Nation, must remember them so we ...

Democracy

The United States Is in Recovery

What Texas, white supremacy and coronavirus can teach us about American history

February 18, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

"In the exchange, Americans saw a president who cared, and a government that finally, after its previous leaders had told them to get out of a terrible catastrophe on their own, responded to their needs."...

Columnists

The Case for Impeachment

As Donald Trump’s second trial begins, Representative Raskin warns the Senate that to not convict is to invite future presidents to do whatever they need to do to hold on to power

February 11, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

The second impeachment trial for former president Donald J. Trump began on February 9, this time for incitement of insurrection against the American government. Still, the people who are really on trial are the 50 Republican senators judging Trump’s guilt. The impeachment trial, this time around, covered whether it is constitutional to ...

Democracy

Welcome to the Biden Administration

In a week of hectic activity, the new president re-introduces Americans to the idea of government

January 28, 2021 • by Heather Cox Richardson

We are now a week into the Biden administration, and President Joe Biden has set some clear and surprisingly dominant markers. Biden has kept firmly to his constitutional responsibilities in what appears to be an attempt to remind Americans of the official roles of different branches of government in our democracy. ...

Columnists

The Trump Administration Wanted You and Your Kids to Get Sick

December 17, 2020 • by Heather Cox Richardson

The reality that Joe Biden is about to become president, and Kamala Harris vice president, is sinking in across Washington, and we now have some indications of what that’s going to mean. Stories about what exactly happened in the Trump administration are coming out, and they are not pretty. For members ...

The Trump Administration Wanted You and Your Kids to Get Sick

Democracy

Stoking the Flames

The Trump wing of the Republican Party continues its attacks on American democracy as the COVID-19 death toll continues to rise

December 10, 2020 • by Heather Cox Richardson

Today’s big story remains the loss of our neighbors to COVID-19. On Wednesday, the official United States death count for 24 hours passed the number of those killed in the 9/11 attacks. On that horrific day in 2001, we lost 2,977 people to four terrorist attacks. On Wednesday, December 9, ...

Democracy

None Dare Call It Treason

Is calling for a military coup Michael Flynn’s payback for his pardon?

December 3, 2020 • by Heather Cox Richardson

On the evening of December 2, Trump’s disgraced former National Security Advisor, retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn-- whom Trump recently pardoned after he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with then-Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak before Trump took office-- retweeted a news release from ...

Columnists

Can the Republican Party Move Forward After the Inauguration?

As Biden creates a cabinet that looks like America, Trump is determined to keep hold of a party that has courted White Supremacists for decades

November 25, 2020 • by Heather Cox Richardson

At about 6:00 on Monday, Emily Murphy, the Trump appointee at the head of General Services Administration who has been holding up the transition to a Biden administration, notified President-Elect Joe Biden that she recognizes his status and will release the money set aside for the transition. This should launch ...

Can the Republican Party Move Forward After the Inauguration?

Democracy

Political Tensions Rise as COVID-19 Deaths Surpass a Quarter-Million

As support for Trump begins to crumble among Republicans, the White House doubles down on efforts to cripple the incoming Biden administration

November 19, 2020 • by Heather Cox Richardson

Yesterday marked a grim milestone. The official count of Americans dead of coronavirus has topped 250,000. A quarter of a million Americans, lost. Governors, including some Republicans previously opposed to ordering measures to stop the spread of the virus, are now issuing mandatory mask requirements. New York City has reached ...

Heather Cox Richardson

The Department of the Interior’s New Face

Deb Haaland represents a reckoning with the fossil fuel industry–and our history of mistreating indigenous people

Democracy Doesn’t Happen By Accident

Black Americans fought for the Voting Rights Act, and Joe Biden wants it back

Our Janus-Faced Political Culture

As the Biden administration moves into the future, conservatives are stuck in the past

This Is What Government Looks Like

As the winter’s Covid-19 surge pushes deaths past 500,000, the Biden administration focuses on policy

The United States Is in Recovery

What Texas, white supremacy and coronavirus can teach us about American history

The Case for Impeachment

As Donald Trump’s second trial begins, Representative Raskin warns the Senate that to not convict is to invite future presidents to do whatever they need to do to hold on to power

Welcome to the Biden Administration

In a week of hectic activity, the new president re-introduces Americans to the idea of government

The Trump Administration Wanted You and Your Kids to Get Sick

Stoking the Flames

The Trump wing of the Republican Party continues its attacks on American democracy as the COVID-19 death toll continues to rise

None Dare Call It Treason

Is calling for a military coup Michael Flynn’s payback for his pardon?

Can the Republican Party Move Forward After the Inauguration?

As Biden creates a cabinet that looks like America, Trump is determined to keep hold of a party that has courted White Supremacists for decades

Political Tensions Rise as COVID-19 Deaths Surpass a Quarter-Million

As support for Trump begins to crumble among Republicans, the White House doubles down on efforts to cripple the incoming Biden administration

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