1860 and 2012? Now That’s Frightening!

1860 and 2012 Electoral Map

Quick. Take a look at these two maps. Prior to 1932, all of that red was just as solidly Democratic as it now is Republican. And all of that blue? Prior to 1932, that was all Republican. Now, go to Amazon.com and download my book, Commonwealth: or Why Democrats are Republicans and Why Republicans are Neither. (Now, you can also purchase the paper edition.)

But this story is older, much older, than 1860. The truth is, in 1787 the vast majority of Americans did not like what was going on in Philadelphia. Because in 1787 most Americans were anti-federalists. In their minds federalism was the simply the American version of British monarchy: a central governing authority taxing their wealth and spending it on pet projects that benefit the few and stick it to the many. Patrick Henry? Anti-federalist. Samuel Adams? Anti-federalist. Neither were invited to the Convention in Philadelphia.

And, as a result, the document that took shape there – the U.S. Constitution – was as thoroughly federalist and republican as any document in history, to the great horror of many patriots and most Americans.

But that’s not the end of the story. Southerners hated the fact that federal courts held jurisdiction over local southern courts. They hated the fact that federal law held precedence over state laws. They hated the fact that the federal government had won the authority to tax the states. They hated the fact that only the federal government could issue and regulate currency, that only the federal government could sign and enforce international treaties, and that only the federal government could regulate interstate commerce. And they hated the fact that the Constitution had granted federal troops not simply the right, but the responsibility of marching into any state that sought to abridge the republican institutions and values of its citizens.

That is because the south was fiercely, militantly, anti-federalist. And they were fiercely, militantly, anti-federalist because they were pro-slavery. So that, between 1787 and 1860, the southern states did everything in their power to twist and distort the U.S. Constitution to make it fit into their anti-federalist image of the United States. They failed. And their failure led to a brutal civil war.

But that’s not the end of the story. After the war and after Reconstruction, the south went right on back to being the south. And, between 1871 and 1964, the southern states continued to do all in their power to undermine federalism and undermine our nation’s republican values and institutions. But, by 1964 the Democratic Party was no longer on their side, and the Republican Party was not yet on their side.

Commonwealth tells the compelling story about how Democrats came to embrace a vision of America that champions res publica, the wealth we hold in common, or simply our commonwealth, and how the Republicans came to adopt the anti-federalism and anti-republicanism once championed by the Democrats.

If you have any Republican friends (we all do) who are on the fence, send them a link to my book. And post a link to my book on your website.

Or, if you are at all curious about how and why the Republican Party came to represent the anti-republican and anti-federalist (and, therefore, anti-Constitutional) position in American politics, or how the Democratic Party came to be the only true republican party in the U.S., you need to read my book.

And don’t forget to vote on Tuesday: Yes on 30! No on 32!

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