Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it
Welcome to another series in my How We Got Here column. Having dissected Watergate, we’ll move backwards to explore the history of the Know-Nothings and anti-Catholicism in 19th Century America. I originally posted these articles on my own blog last … Continue reading How We Got Here: The Charlestown Convent and the Birth of an American Hate
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! Per our friend Robert Maitland’s suggestion, our topic this week: Cities and urban development. Discuss the rise and fall of cities and human population trends, whether specific cities and time periods or general overviews … Continue reading The Urban Weekly History Thread
At the height of the Watergate hearings, nearly 85 percent of Americans watched them on television. As we’ve seen, initial indifference turned into excitement as the Committee interrogated witnesses and uncovered truths. It cratered Nixon’s approval ratings, destroyed public trust … Continue reading How We Got Here: Aftershocks from the Season of Inquiry
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! Usual rules apply: don’t feel bound by the discussion topic, have fun and try and be respectful. Today’s discussion topic: Founding and national myths. We’ve discussed variations of this topic before, so apologies for … Continue reading The Weekly History Thread
Part four in a series: see parts one, two and three. Fred LaRue was perhaps the shadiest of Richard Nixon’s men, which was no small accomplishment. The Mississippi oil heir first gained notoriety in 1957 by killing his father in … Continue reading How We Got Here: The Berlin Wall
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! This week we’re going to do something potentially NSFW: Sex in history. Awhile back we discussed sex scandals specifically, but use this topic to discuss anything about humanity’s oldest and most reliable pass time: sexual … Continue reading The Steamy Weekly History Thread
Welcome to this week’s History Thread! I didn’t have a topic until I looked up “this day in history,” but it seems like a fun one to discuss. As always, do not feel constrained by the discussion topic. This week’s … Continue reading The Fake Weekly History Thread
Part Three in a series; see parts one and two. Once upon a time, John Mitchell had been Washington’s second-most powerful man. As Attorney General, his jowly, pipe-smoking visage embodied Richard Nixon’s version of “law and order,” a ruthless crackdown … Continue reading How We Got Here: The White House Horrors
Hello and welcome to this week’s History Thread! Our topic for the week: What makes you interested in delving deeper into a topic? Let’s say you know nothing about, say, the American Civil War or the Holocaust or Ancient Rome, … Continue reading The Curious Weekly History Thread
Part one here. June 16th, 1973: nearly a month into the Senate Watergate hearings and America is hooked. Initially, network executives expressed serious reservations. One CBS producer worried about hearing from “200,000 nice little old ladies whose favorite soap opera had been preempted by something called Watergate.” Another network executive estimated that stations lost $400,000 in ad revenue for each preempted show. The best case they could initially make, per The Louisville Courier-Journal, was that the hearings served a public service, highlighting “the point at which obedience to orders becomes a denial of higher and universal laws of civilized behavior.” … Continue reading How We Got Here: John Dean Tells All
Welcome to the Weekly History Thread! This is the first one of these for the new site and I hope it’s as fun and informative as everyone as you can. Today’s topic: Politics and elections. It’s Election Day here in many parts of the United States, so let’s discuss historical politics and elections. Are there any historical political campaigns in your home country or location that are worth remembering? Any politicians of the past you admire or respect? Perhaps some you loathe? Today’s picture: 101 years ago today, Jeannette Rankin won election to the US House of Representatives. A Montana … Continue reading The Weekly History Thread Heads to the Polls!
Welcome to How We Got Here, what I hope to be a regular Avocado feature chronicling how historical events shaped our current political and cultural climates. I hope you enjoy and please leave any feedback you’d care to share. – The Author (also Spiro Agnew, etc.) May 17th, 1973 saw Washington in tumult. The Senate Select Committee on President Campaign Activities convened its first public hearings on the Watergate scandal. After months of speculation fueled by leaks and press coverage, even normally apolitical Americans anticipated its revelations. Theodore White felt the Committee would “deliver an extraordinary exercise in American public … Continue reading How We Got Here: The Ervin Hearings, Watergate and the 24 Hour News Cycle
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