A Geography Lesson

The author's purpose here is to question whether the Tea Party will have an ongoing influence across the U.S. but his article touches on cultural differences within the nation. I had some of my students write about what the nation might look like had the U.S. Constitution not been ratified, and I think the map he assembles is as good a guess as any about what North American might look like had it not.

Are Institutional Changes Necessary to Solve Economic Crisis?

William Galston, writing for the Brookings Institution, thinks so and outlines some proposals.

He begins by pointing out previous periods in American history where institutional change was needed to solve crises.

1 - The replacement of the Articles of Confederation with the Constitution helped solidify the newly formed nation.

2 - The passage of the Civil War Amendments (the 13th, 14th and 15th) resolved the ambivalent relationship between the national and state governments in favor of the former.

3 - The creation of the Federal Reserve, the Department of Defense and other large agencies allowed the nation to position itself effectively internationally.

He details a variety of institutional changes he considers necessary to handle our current fiscal mess.