The Supreme Court has always been political, despite what recent history may lead us to believe. However, things may feel different now because the Court is more powerful now. Historian Rachel Shelden takes on a trip back to the Civil War era and we discuss the lessons from that era the might apply today.
A lot of people are thinking about the Civil War era these days, whether it's asking questions about whether we're in a second civil war now or thinking about what happened during the election of 1876. In addition to our discussion of the Supreme Court, we talk about both of these things with Shelden, associate professor of history at Penn State and director of the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center.
If it sounds like we covered a lot in this episode, it's because we did. Like any good historian, Shelden does not use her knowledge of history predict the future, but she does offer some very useful insights for how the past can help all of us frame and interpret what's happening now.
The perfect storm for election disaster
A brief history of "people power"
Shelden's article in the Washington Post
Stanford's Jonathan Gienapp on originalism and history
Penn State Richards Civil War Era Center
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