Tagged politics
Trust No One: Joe McCarthy and the Politics of Fear
Lies. Alternative facts. Demonize and Destroy Your Opponents. Does this sound familiar? Former Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (R-Wisconsin) has been dead for 63 years, but the political tools and techniques that he pioneered are as fresh as…
Voting by Mail? Avoid "Naked Ballots"!
Updated Tuesday, October 20, 2020 12:15 p.m. Spanish and Chinese translations have been added to this blog post. In the real world, small technical details count for a lot. How many checks were never cashed because the person who wrote…
Making Her Mark: Philadelphia Women Fight for the Vote Exhibition Opens Fall 2020
As we find ourselves weeks away from Election Day, consider this question: Who was the first person in your family to vote? The stories of Philadelphia women who built and sustained movements dedicated to voting rights is…
Defying Putin: The Dangers and Opportunities in Opposing Russia’s President
Bad things happen to people that Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, dislikes. Currently, Aleksi Navalny, the most important leader of Russia’s opposition, lies in a German hospital bed struggling to recover from a cup of…
The Picture of Health: The Strange Case of John F. Kennedy
During the critical first presidential debate in 1960, the difference in the physical appearance of the two candidates could not have been sharper. Vice President Richard Nixon looked like a man who belonged in a hospital. The…
A Dying Man Runs for President
If ever a man simply wore himself out while serving his country, Franklin D. Roosevelt is his name. First elected during the depths of the Great Depression in 1932, he was still on the job twelve years later in the midst of World War…
President Eisenhower, Senator McCarthy, and "The Junketeering Gumshoes"
During the years that Dwight Eisenhower served as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, he had to contend with some of the most demanding and difficult personalities on two continents. The shortlist included Franklin D. Roosevelt ,…
Race in the United States: Social Justice Virtual Workshops for Teens
Updated Friday, July 10, 2020 4:59 p.m. "The Social Justice Symposium Teen Planning Committee supports the Concerned Black Workers of the Free Library of Philadelphia ! CBWFLP Response to DEI/Board of Trustees' letter We are…
"I Voted" Stickers from Our Special Collections
It's Primary Election Day in Philadelphia! If you've signed up in Pennsylvania to vote by mail , you should have already received your ballot with its easy-to-follow instructions, enclosure envelope, and mailing envelope. The…
Women of the World, Unite!
"Women of the world, unite. You have nothing to lose but your chains!" You’ve probably heard a slightly different version of this quote (or, to be fair, misquote ) from Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto , the…
Get Your Trusted 2020 Presidential Election News from the Free Library
Super Tuesday is now behind us. The 11th debate of the Democratic presidential primary is on the horizon. Candidates are dropping out of the race left and right, but it’s still anybody’s game. As the field narrows, how can…
Women's History Month 2020: Stories We Know, Stories We'll Discover
"Even if I believed that women should be denied the right of suffrage, wild horses could not drag such an admission from my pen or my lips, for this reason: precisely the same arguments used to prove that the ballot be withheld…
MLK Day of Service | When the Youth Lead
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a strongly celebrated day in Philadelphia. People of all ages come together to support their communities and uplift the values of MLK’s civil rights leadership during this nationally recognized Day of…
Election Day is Tuesday, November 5
Election Day is Tuesday, November 5 throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. During this general election, Philadelphians will elect a Mayor, 10 District Council and Seven Council at-Large members, as well as Judges, City…
New Voting Machine Demonstrations at a Neighborhood Library Near You!
Whether you've voted or not in the past few years for national or local elections, you may or may not know that voting security has become an ever-increasing concern. A bipartisan report by the Senate Intelligence Committee released…
How to Vote in the Primary Election on Tuesday, May 21
Philadelphians: it’s time to make your voting plans for the 2019 Pennsylvania primary election, which will be held this coming Tuesday, May 21! The Free Library is here to help you vote, in more ways than one. Here’s an…
First Ladies, In Their Own Words
The position of First Lady is a unique one in American government. It’s not a democratically elected position, but the office holds a great deal of cultural clout, and the women who occupied it have been deemed significant enough…
Plan for the Polls: No Excuses!
With the launch of our Division of Cultural and Civic Engagement (DCCE), the Free Library is committed, more than ever, to getting Philadelphians involved in what’s happening in their neighborhoods and communities, as well as the…
Midterms Matter: Democracy Looks Like You!
Voting is an exercise in democracy. And no matter where you fall on the political spectrum, if you’re not registered to vote, your voice won’t be heard. Midterms matter! And for these crucial 2018 elections, the deadline to…
Our Spring 2018 Author Events Series Is Full of Fire and Fury!
Updated January, 16, 2018 Watch our interview with Michael Wolff tonight LIVE starting @ 7:30 p.m. A week from today, in what is sure to be one of our more interesting Author Events to ever take place at the Free Library, we welcome…
For the Greatest Number: The New Deal Revisited
It’s been ninety years since the crisis of the Great Depression inspired a New Deal of arts programs, infrastructure investment, and worker protections. The art and objects funded by New Deal programs show us how workers shaped…
For the Greatest Number: The New Deal Revisited
It’s been ninety years since the crisis of the Great Depression inspired a New Deal of arts programs, infrastructure investment, and worker protections. The art and objects funded by New Deal programs show us how workers shaped…
Robert Costa | Peril
DETAILS TO COME Peril is the story of the end of one presidency and the beginning of another, and represents the culmination of Bob Woodward’s news-making trilogy on the Trump presidency, along with Fear and…
VIRTUAL - Adam Schiff | Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could
TICKETS In conversation with Tracey Matisak, award-winning journalist and broadcaster The United States representative for California’s 28th congressional district and the chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on…
VIRTUAL - Keisha N. Blain | Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America
REGISTER In conversation with Mitchell S. Jackson Keisha N. Blain ’s Set the World on Fire , a history of some of the early 20th century’s leading Black nationalist women, won the Berkshire Conference of Women…
VIRTUAL - Fiona Hill | There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century
Register Known for her testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives during Donald Trump’s 2019 impeachment hearings, Fiona Hill has more than 30 years of experience in foreign policy. The Robert Bosch Senior Fellow at the…
American Presidency
The 2016 American Presidency Series will blend education and entertainment for the whole family, offering lectures and analysis about the presidency and leadership along with enriching programs for children in our neighborhood libraries.…
Presidents of the United States
Under the United States Constitution, the President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States. As chief of the executive branch and face of the federal government as a whole, the presidency is…
U.S. Elections and Politics
The United States midterm general election will be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. In Pennsylvania, the ballot includes candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, the Pennsylvania State Senate,…
NewsBank Hot Topics
Trending news and hot topics for your next assignment! Hot topics covers Current Events, Business & Economics, Civics, Government, & Politics, Social Issues, Science, Technology & Health, Sports, Arts & Literature, and People in the News.
Gale OneFile | High School Edition (formerly InfoTrac Student Edition) *
High school students will have access to age-appropriate content from magazines, journals, newspapers, reference books, and engaging multi-media covering a wide range of subjects, from science, history, and literature to political…
Randall Kennedy | Say It Loud!: On Race, Law, History, and Culture
Celebrated for “his courage and his convictions” in tackling sensitive issues, Randall Kennedy is “a member of that small coterie of our most lucid big thinkers about race” ( The Washington Post ). The Michael R. Klein Professor at…
Rebecca Donner | All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days: The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler
In conversation with David Clay Large, professor at the Fromm Institute, University of San Francisco, Senior Fellow at the Institute of European Studies, U.C. Berkeley, and author of ten books including Berlin, Where Ghosts Walked:…
Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker | I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump’s Catastrophic Final Year
In conversation with Andrea Mitchell, anchor of Andrea Mitchell Reports on MSNBC and NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker are the authors of the #1 bestselling book A Very Stable Genius , a “taut and…
Scott Ellsworth | The Ground Breaking: An American City's Search for Justice
In conversation with Tracey Matisak, award-winning journalist and broadcaster Scott Ellsworth is the author of Death in a Promised Land , an in-depth book about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, one of modern history’s most horrific…
Laura Raicovich | Culture Strike: Art and Museums in an Age of Protest
In conversation with Seph Rodney, PhD, opinions editor and managing editor of the Sunday Edition for Hyperallergic , author of The Personalization of the Museum Visit , and winner of the 2020 Rabkin Arts Journalism Prize. The interim…
Elizabeth Hinton | America on Fire: The Untold History of Police Violence and Black Rebellion Since the 1960s
In conversation with Jill Lepore, historian and bestselling and award-winning author of These Truths: A History of the United States , The Secret History of Wonder Woman , and If Then: How the Simulmatics Corporation Invented the Future…
Jason L. Riley | Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell
In conversation with Anthony B. Bradley, Professor and Chair of Religious and Theological Studies at The King's College (New York) and a Research Fellow at The Acton Institute Jason L. Riley ’s books include Let Them In: The Case for…
Paul Farmer | Fevers, Feuds, and Diamonds: Ebola and the Ravages of History
Pine Tree Foundation Endowed Lecture In conversation with Dr. Steven Larson, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Acclaimed for his “exceptional empathy and care” ( Boston Globe )…
Lawrence Wright | The Plague Year: America in the Time of Covid
In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition Acclaimed for bringing “a clear-eyed, investigative fearlessness” ( The Washington Post ) to a diverse range of topics, Lawrence Wright is a longtime staff…
Carol Anderson | The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America
In conversation with Tracey Matisak, award-winning journalist and broadcaster In appreciation of the George S. Pepper Society Carol Anderson is the author of the National Book Critics Circle Award winner White Rage , “a riveting and…
Sebastian Junger | Freedom
In conversation with Joe Klein, Time political columnist and bestselling author of six books including Primary Colors and most recently Politics Lost Employing “his narrative gifts and vivid prose” ( The Washington Post ) to chronicle…
Marc Bookman | A Descending Spiral: Exposing the Death Penalty in 12 Essays
In conversation with Reggie Shuford, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Pennsylvania. The Executive Director of the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation, Marc Bookman is an internationally renowned…
Camille T. Dungy, Gregory Pardlo and Joshua Bennett | There’s A Revolution Outside, My Love: Letters from a Crisis
In conversation Trapeta Mayson, Philadelphia Poet Laureate A reflection of the heartrending turmoils of racial injustice and brutality against Black Americans amidst the fear and uncertainty of a pandemic, There’s a Revolution Outside,…
Amy Klobuchar | Antitrust: Taking on Monopoly Power from the Gilded Age to the Digital Age
In conversation with Mark Zandi, Chief Economist, Moody’s Analytics The senior United States Senator from Minnesota, Amy Klobuchar chairs the Senate Rules Committee; the Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and…
Caleb Azumah Nelson | Open Water
In conversation with Megha Majumdar, bestselling author of A Burning British–-Ghanaian writer Caleb Azumah Nelson’s debut novel Open Water is, “an intense, elegant” ( Guardian ) tale of two young Black British artists who find love as…
Martha C. Nussbaum | Citadels of Pride: Sexual Abuse, Accountability, and Reconciliation
Martha C. Nussbaum is the author of numerous watershed books and articles concerning moral, legal, and political philosophy, including The Fragility of Goodness , Sex and Social Justice , and Cultivating Humanity . The Ernst Freund…
Annette Gordon-Reed | On Juneteenth
Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Endowed Lecture In conversation with Tracey Matisak, award-winning broadcaster and journalist Annette Gordon-Reed won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for The Hemingses of Monticello: An…
Ross King | The Bookseller of Florence: The Story of the Manuscripts That Illuminated the Renaissance
Celebrated for his skill at “elucidating crucial episodes in the history of art and architecture” (Time ), Ross King is the author of many bestselling nonfiction books that peak behind the curtain of history of the studios, workshops,…
Senator Mazie K. Hirono | Heart of Fire: An Immigrant Daughter’s Story
In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition Natalie Cohn Memorial Lecture A “hero on the left” ( Washington Post ) for her vocal support of progressive legislation and issues, Mazie K. Hirono is the…
Kate Masur | Until Justice Be Done: America's First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction
Ellis Wachs Endowed Lecture In conversation with Tracey Matisak, award-winning broadcaster and journalist Kate Masur is the author of An Example for All the Land , a Lincoln Prize finalist that examined Washington, D.C.’s role as a…
Votes PA
The Pennsylvania Department of State’s online guide to voter registration has everything you need to know about voting in the 2008 Presidential Election.
Votes PA
Portal from the Pennsylvania Department of State has information on registering to vote, locating your polling place, applying for alternative ballots, and the new voter ID law.
Vote: the Machinery of Democracy
The Smithsonian Institution has put together this website on the history of the technical and mechanical aspects of voting in the US.
U.S. Election Assistance Commission
One of the Election Assistance Commission’s primary mandates under the Help America Vote Act is to serve as a central resource for information about elections. This site includes information about registering to vote and serving as a…
The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials from 1952 - 2012
Fascinating look at the presidential campaign commercials of yesteryear.
The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials from 1952 - 2008
Fascinating look at the presidential campaign commercials of yesteryear.
The History of Televised Presidential Debates
Essays, interviews, and guides to the role of debates in presidential races, including video of debates since 1960.
The Electoral College
The Electoral College was established by the founding fathers as a compromise between election of the president by Congress and election by popular vote. The people of the United States vote for the electors who then vote for the President.
The American Presidency Project
A very complete electronic source of everything you ever wanted to know about the Presidency from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Includes audio and video clips back to the Hoover Administration, Executive Orders and…
Surviving Thanksgiving
Dreading the post-election Thanksgiving dinner table conversation this year? Here are some survival tips. Good Luck!
Project Vote Smart
Project Vote Smart allows voters to scrutinize candidates voting records, issue positions, interest group ratings, public statements, campaign finances and biographical information.
Pennsylvania Voter Registration Resource Center
The Pennsylvania Department of State’s Online Guide to voter registration has everything you need to know about voting in the 2018 midterm election.
League of Women Voters of Philadelphia
The League of Women Voters of Philadelphia provides a one-stop portal for non-partisan information on voting, election information, civic education, and civic participation.
Federal Election Commission
In 1975, Congress created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act. This site includes data on campaign contributions to all candidates, along with maps that show where…
Fact Check: Annenberg Political Fact Checker
Based at the University of Pennsylvania, this is a "nonpartisan, nonprofit, 'consumer advocate' for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. [They] monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by…
Commission on Presidential Debates
"The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) was established in 1987 to ensure that debates, as a permanent part of every general election, provide the best possible information to viewers and listeners." Look for a link to Debate…
Ben's Guide to Government for Kids
A simple guide for children on how our government works, divided by age range.
Ballotpedia
Ballotpedia is an online encyclopedia of American politics and elections. It contains neutral, accurate, and verifiable information on government officials and the offices they hold, political issues and public policy, elections,…
Additional Information about Voter Registration in Pennsylvania
The Committee of Seventy also provides information about Pennsylvania voter registration and absentee ballots.
American Presidency Series
Join the Free Library for a series of compelling provocative programs that examine the untold stories of, unconventional approaches to, and contemporary concerns about the world's most difficult job. The 2016 American Presidency Series…