A wire story on “5 reasons why U.S. politics was always crazy” quotes Dr. Kevin Mattson, the Connor Study Professor of Contemporary History at Ohio University.
Watching talking heads on TV or perusing your Facebook news feed might lead you to conclude that American politics has reached its nadir.
The United States is tense with partisanship, divisiveness, disapproval of politicians and institutions, and general public unrest. Insults fly regularly among presidential candidates, and Congressmen recently staged a “sit-in” protest on the House floor.
Dr. Kevin Mattson
Politics wasn’t always this extreme, right? Well, actually, at times it could be much worse.Kevin Mattson, a professor of contemporary history at Ohio University, said the political climate in the U.S. has mostly been “divisive and toxic,” with only a few exceptions throughout history. As we head toward the nominating conventions — and a potentially nasty general election campaign — we look back at examples that show U.S. politics has a long history of crazy.
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Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has gained considerable attention with his unscripted remarks and sometimes shocking rhetoric. Mattson compared Trump to 1964 GOP presidential candidate Barry Goldwater who “was notorious for shooting from the hip on the campaign trail,” although he said Trump outdoes Goldwater.
But who can compete with Trump’s divisiveness?
“You can’t find a more divisive politician than Joseph McCarthy,” Mattson said.
McCarthy, who served as a U.S senator for Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957, spent many years trying to expose communists and radical leftists during the Cold War. He became a symbol of the “Red Scare,” a time in American history when fear of the potential rise of communism and extreme leftism was pushed.
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