Political Violence in U.S. History, from the Whiskey Rebellion to the January 6th Insurrection

Catalog description

From Bleeding Kansas to Bloody Sunday, from the Colfax Massacre to Charlottesville, political violence has always been in America's DNA. Donald Trump didn't just incite an insurrection on January 6, 2021. During the years leading up to the attack on the Capitol, he ushered in a new era of militancy. In a seminar taught by Washington Post columnist James Hohmann, who contributed to the Jan. 6 coverage that earned a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, students will explore the historical arc from the Capitol rioters, some of whom paraded with Confederate flags, to the Southerners who pummeled abolitionists on the floor of the House and Senate during the decades before the Civil War. The members of the mob were descendants - spiritually, if not literally - of Know-Nothings and Klansmen. Students will compare American struggles with political violence to other western countries, closely read the report prepared by the Jan. 6 special committee and meet with key figures involved in efforts to foil political violence in 2024 and beyond. This course is offered to students in the Stanford in Washington program in Washington, D.C.