Part of my interest in researching memory and pop culture in American History is its connection to the domestic and military policy of the present. In other words, it is not just distinguishing people’s feelings/memories/emotions about a particular historical subject from the actual history (what people believe about their history versus what is actually true about that history), but also the impact of those feelings/memories/emotions on the formation of current government, both local and nationally.
This, to me, is the utility of good history: To not just argue about the past, but to contextualize why that past matters now and tomorrow.
We are only five days into the Presidency of Donald Trump, and so — personal feelings aside — from a historical …show more content…
In this case, however, because of the outcomes, the fate of being largely forgotten is probably better than the fate of being actually remembered, and something tells me President Trump might in four or eight years be looking down that same sort of barrel.
I’m talking about James Buchanan.
Buchanan, the only President to remain a bachelor for the entirety of his life, is remembered for his many missteps in the years leading up to the Civil War, but nothing reflects his gross negligence and desperation for “winning” more than his final days in office.
In October, 1860, with the election looming, General Winfield Scott met with President Buchanan to inform him that Abraham Lincoln was going to win the election and that at least seven states were likely to secede as a result. Buchanan initially responded with a baffling order to his War Secretary, John Floyd, to send resources to southern military sites, before revoking the order under pressure. The message was clear, though, that rumors had reached the President of an imminent rebellion in response to his successor, and that as it was, the acting President stood with the
This, to me, is the utility of good history: To not just argue about the past, but to contextualize why that past matters now and tomorrow.
We are only five days into the Presidency of Donald Trump, and so — personal feelings aside — from a historical …show more content…
In this case, however, because of the outcomes, the fate of being largely forgotten is probably better than the fate of being actually remembered, and something tells me President Trump might in four or eight years be looking down that same sort of barrel.
I’m talking about James Buchanan.
Buchanan, the only President to remain a bachelor for the entirety of his life, is remembered for his many missteps in the years leading up to the Civil War, but nothing reflects his gross negligence and desperation for “winning” more than his final days in office.
In October, 1860, with the election looming, General Winfield Scott met with President Buchanan to inform him that Abraham Lincoln was going to win the election and that at least seven states were likely to secede as a result. Buchanan initially responded with a baffling order to his War Secretary, John Floyd, to send resources to southern military sites, before revoking the order under pressure. The message was clear, though, that rumors had reached the President of an imminent rebellion in response to his successor, and that as it was, the acting President stood with the