John Adams signed the Sedition Act, which voided parts of the First Amendment, including freedom of the press and free speech. John Adams later said voting for Thomas Jefferson would be voting for the Devil. Jefferson’s supporters called John Adams “King John.” But then President Andrew Jackson’s detractors referred to him as “King Andrew.”
Abraham Lincoln did suspend habeas corpus, had the military detain certain legislators to ensure Maryland voted to stay in the Union, and had protesters arrested. Woodrow Wilson also had protesters arrested during the Great War. Refusing to go to war due to religious reasons could have resulted in being thrown in prison at that time. I believe that last conscientious objector was released in 1933.
Teddy Roosevelt routinely attacked his predecessor and fellow Republican, William Howard Taft. But then his cousin was also attacked. "Roosevelt is a socialist," said Rep. Robert Rich, which was a sentiment held by various corporate leaders. Others wondered if Communists infiltrated FDR's administration and there was talk among some Republicans (who were the minority in Congress) to try to impeach FDR. Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) claimed spies from the Soviet Union infiltrated the presidency of fellow Republican and one-time Supreme Allied Commander Dwight Eisenhower. McCarthy's military exploits were found to be akin to fairy tales and so he was mocked in his nickname "Tail-gunner Joe." The House impeached Bill Clinton for lying about having committed adultery. And then there was Nixon who famously said if the president does it, it's not illegal. Many in his administration ended up in jail. "I am not a crook," he repeated and repeated and repeated.
Every president has been portrayed at sometime during their presidency as someone who will destroy the pillars of this country, a potential king or dictator. The country remains, the Constitution is intact, and the center of the American experiment, democracy and capitalism, remain firmly in place.
This isn’t normal,” “threat to democracy,” “disgraceful,” “dangerous,” “treasonous” and similar sentiments are being alleged every day by more members of Trump's own party and retired military leaders. To name a few, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), Senator and one-time GOP presidential candidate John McCain, Gov. and one-time GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, George Will (columnist Washington Post who recently renounced his affiliation with the GOP), Stephen Walt (Foreign Policy magazine), Ben Shapiro (Alt-right author, speaker, radio personality), John Brennan (ex-Director, CIA), General Barry McCaffrey, and Admiral William McRaven.
Is there more continuity or more change among major themes in US history? I am interested in five major themes to Trump’s time in office: Press, Race, Immigration, Patriotism, and Foreign Policy. I am going to look at those themes in other presidencies. I’d like to research and write an OER ancillary or reference guide in a non-traditional format. The first chapter would cover the 2016 election to the present examining those five themes. The rest will be chronological, from Washington to Obama, examining those themes in various presidencies. Then the final chapter will address the big question: Continuity or Change? On Inauguration Day, 2017, Peabody and Emmy Trustees Award winner Dan Rather wrote “These are not normal times.” Was that a sentiment regularly repeated since 1789 or unique to 2017?
Comparing the words and actions of whoever is in power to those of Richard Nixon
has been low-hanging fruit of political cartoonists. Memes, however, are relatively new.
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