David O. Stewart

With the Republican nomination mostly wrapped up, and the Democratic race down to two, it’s not too early to start thinking about vice presidential running mates. It’s one of the sad songs in American history. In the nineteenth century, three vice presidents succeeded to the presidency, and all were disasters. Worse yet, all adopted policies…

Taking a breather from the book I’m writing on the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson in 1868, I find myself wondering which are the top ten American political trials. My ground rules are simple: (1) there was an actual trial, and (2) the trial had a direct and powerful impact on the nation’s political life.…

In a talk at the Bethesda Writer’s Center last night, I had a chance to air some of the dirty linen of the history writer: how do we know what actually happened, what people actually said, decades or centuries in the past? The issue was teed up in a recent conversation when two friends in…

An amazing number of people love Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy. It’s fifty years old but it still enjoys good sales and lots of enthusiastic fans. The book tells the stories of eight senators who supposedly were great American heroes, who supposedly should get more attention. Only trouble is, the book turns out…

[I received this through my website, and admired its passion. Reproduced with permission.] I just turned 60, so I imagine I am somewhat older than you. I was born and raised in St. Louis, MO. At that time going to school in the 1950’s, our education regarding the formation of the American government and the…

On September 17, 1787, thirty-nine Americans signed a Constitution for the fractious United States of America. In late 2004, Congress decreed that this anniversary – to be known as “Constitution Day” – must be honored by schools receiving federal funds. Ironically, on the two-hundred-twentieth Constitution Day our greatest constitutional problem is Congress’ failure to meet…

Posted on Huffington Post, July 16, 2007 | 05:46 PM (EST) Read More: Breaking Politics News, George Mason, Alexander Hamilton Americans care about their Constitution. They told me so this spring while I promoted my book, The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented The Constitution. Appearing before dozens of community groups, and on media…

This week’s reports from Iraq disclose that after almost four months of American military “surge” in Iraq, U.S. troops currently control fewer than one-third of Baghdad’s neighborhoods. This depressing news gives unwelcome force to the remarks two hundred thirty years ago of Lord Chatham (William Pitt the Elder) as he denounced British policy towards the…

In the high-stakes face-off between Congress and the President over Iraq policy, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) has brandished a new weapon, joining a proposal for Congress to rescind its 2002 resolution approving “military force against Iraq.” Because it puts into play the Constitution’s limits on presidential power, the “deauthorization” move can change the current stalemate.…