In 1859 Abraham Lincoln was invited to Boston for a speaking engagement, but could not come. Instead, he wrote a Letter to H.L. Pierce and the Boston Republicans in which he mused upon how the political parties had switched positions over the years on the questions of liberty and property. The Democrats had been the…
Month: September 2020
Abraham Lincoln, 1864: “this administration will not be reelected’
In the summer of 1864, during the crisis of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln was facing a reelection campaign. The political and military conditions of the Union were dire. Lincoln did not think he would win reelection. He wrote out the following and sealed it in an envelope, asking his Cabinet members to sign…
2020 Democratic Primaries Reveal Limits of Progressive Reform Politics in Massachusetts
Two 2020 Democratic primaries illustrate a central paradox of Massachusetts politics, which is that politics in cradle of American democracy, the place where America began as an act of rebellion, is among the most establishment friendly in the nation. Bright blue Massachusetts is liberal in principle but conservative in practice. The recent primary victories of…
Neal’s Victory Reinforces What We Already Knew About WMass Voters
As readers of MassPoliticsProfs have known for eight years now, Massachusetts voters are not what the rest of the country thinks they are. They are not the tip of the progressive spear in America. They are not politics-hating Puritanical moralists ready and willing to punish corrupt politicians at a moments notice. They are highly individualistic…