This Is Who We Are
The rioters at the Capitol are part of an unbroken American tradition. Sweet talk about our “better angels” did not defeat them before and will not now.
Winter 2026
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Making the Monument
At the dedication for the Lincoln Memorial, President Harding portrayed Lincoln as the president who “maintained union and nationality” rather than the president who ended slavery. Changing the monument’s meaning took political struggle.
A Politics of Ambition
Politics cannot just be about consensus. It must also be about conflict. More important, it must always be about asking for more.
Tyranny of Democracy
In 1861 Abraham Lincoln, in his first inaugural address, gave a legalistic account of why he must leave slavery untouched. By 1865 he was an impassioned evangelist for freedom. What prompted his dramatic transformation?
