January 10, 2011
Assassins and American History
Introduction
Left to right: Associated Press, Ira Schwartz/Associated Press and Mamta Popat/Arizona Daily Star via Associated Press Left to right: Arthur H. Bremer, John Hinckley Jr. and Jared Loughner. Does political speech lead to acts of political violence?
Since Jared Loughner shot Representative Gabrielle Giffords and 19 others at a Safeway in Tucson on Saturday, there has been a vigorous debate over whether partisan vitriol played a role in encouraging a mentally unbalanced young man to act.
The VictimsWhat does American history tell us about the relationship between violent acts and the political acrimony of the day?
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Debaters
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The Means to Commit Mass Murder
Robert Dallek, historian
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What Thomas Jefferson Would Say
Jill Lepore, historian
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Political Attacks, Circa 1800
Steven F. Hayward, American Enterprise Institute
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The Facts About Political Assailants
Steven Mintz, historian, Columbia University
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The Cost of Thuggish Prattle
Kevin Baker, novelist and historian
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Toxic Speech in Politics
Julian E. Zelizer, history professor, Princeton University
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Violence in the 1930’s
Catherine McNicol Stock, historian, “Rural Radicals”
When Do Consumer Boycotts Work?
New Terms for Nafta?
Media in the Age of Trump
From Their Pens to Donald Trump's Ear
Western States, Federal Land