Victor Nuovo: The mind of Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Editor’s note: This is the 55th in a series of essays on the history and meaning of the American political tradition. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was not only a pioneering feminist activist, she was also a philosopher of great sophistication and deserves to be remembered as such. This is amply demonstrated in her writings, two especially, which I shall review here: “The Woman’s Bible” and “The Solitude of Self.” She published them close to the end of her life. The former is a collection of critical essays about … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is the 54th in a series of essays on the history and meaning of the American political tradition. Early in the spring of 1776, as the Continental Congress met in Philadelphia to consider what steps to take towards independence, Abigail … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is the 53rd in a series of essays on the history and meaning of the American political tradition. The United States fought two wars of conquest during the 19th century. The first (1846-48), against Mexico, added new territories to the … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is the 52nd in a series of essays on the history and meaning of the American political tradition. Basic to the idea of the frontier is the belief that beyond it, wherever the frontier happened to be in the course of our nation’s westwa … (read more)

Nature has let loose an irresistible toxic agent against our species in the form of a virus, COVID-19. It is encircling the world, and many will be harmed or die because of it. However, our situation is not hopeless, although it is critical. We possess re … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is the 51st in a series of essays on the history and meaning of the American political tradition. In 1893, in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ discovery of America, the city of Chicago hosted a World’s Fair, appropri … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is the 50th in a series of essays on the history and meaning of the American political tradition. Normally, I try to write the essays in this series in the third person, as anyone should when writing history. Impartiality is the rule. … (read more)

The 2020 presidential election is Bernie Sander’s to lose. By this I do not mean that I expect Sanders’s to be the Democratic candidate opposing Donald Trump in November. It will certainly be Joe Biden. But unless Sanders and his cohort of Bernie Bros aba … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is the 49th in a series of essays on the history and meaning of the American political tradition. The term “Reconstruction” when applied to the aftermath of the Civil War has several uses. The South suffered the loss of its infrastruct … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is the 48th in a series of essays on the history and meaning of the American political tradition. The Gettysburg Address opens with a reference to the founding of a nation: “Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upo … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is the 47th in a series of essays on the history and meaning of the American political tradition. If it had been up to him, Abraham Lincoln would not have chosen the title of “The Great Emancipator” for himself. He would have preferred … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is the 46th in a series of essays on the history and meaning of the American political tradition. In June 1858, the Republican Party of Illinois held its state convention and nominated Abraham Lincoln to be its candidate for the United … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is the 45th in a series of essays on the history and meaning of the American political tradition. Frederick Douglass (1818–95) was born into slavery, but this pernicious institution could not contain him. Self-educated, except for a br … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is the 44th in a series of essays on the history and meaning of the American political tradition. The best way to introduce readers to William Lloyd Garrison (1805–1879) is to allow him to speak for himself: “Assenting to the ‘self evi … (read more)

Editor’s note: This is the 43rd in a series of essays on the history and meaning of the American political tradition. American slavery was a crime committed against black Africans by white Bible-reading Anglo-Saxons, who regarded their victims as movable, … (read more)