Explore: politics

Tagged politics

Let's Talk: Philly D.A.

Philadelphians, we need to talk! Join your neighbors at eight Free Library of Philadelphia libraries between May 23 and June 30th, to watch and discuss individual episodes of the award winning PBS documentary series Philly D.A. . We…

Frenemies: The Strange Friendship of JFK and Richard Nixon

The 1960 presidential campaign was close, hard-fought, and left both sides feeling embittered. Kennedy’s final margin of victory was less than 115,000 votes out of nearly 70 million cast. Nixon was convinced that the Kennedy…

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…

IN-PERSON - Maggie Haberman | Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America

TICKETS FOR SALE TO THE PUBLIC ON THIS PAGE, AUGUST 24 at 10:00 A.M. In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition Maggie Haberman was part of a team that won a 2018 Pulitzer Prize for its…

Staying On: When An Elderly or Ill U.S. Senator Refuses To Retire

The U.S. Senate has long been known as the most exlusive club in the world. Claiming one of the 100 seats available here, truly marks a person as a member of the nation's political elite. It's hard to enter this…

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…

W. Kamau Bell with Kate Schatz | Do the Work!: An Antiracist Activity Book

In conversation with Marc Lamont Hill W. Kamau Bell is the host and executive producer of the Emmy Award–winning CNN docuseries United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell , and also directed and executive produced the recent four-part…

Mark Leibovich | Thank You for Your Servitude: Donald Trump's Washington and the Price of Submission

In conversation with Tracey Matisak, award winning broadcaster and journalist Mark Leibovich’s books include the No. 1 bestseller This Town , a “vastly entertaining and deeply troubling” ( The New York Times Book Review ) exploration…

Michael Pollan | This is Your Mind on Plants

In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition One of the world’s foremost chroniclers of the intersection of the human and natural worlds, Michael Pollan is a No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of…

Malcolm Nance | They Want to Kill Americans: The Militias, Terrorists, and Deranged Ideology of the Trump Insurgency

In conversation with Marc Lamont Hill A world-renowned counterterrorism expert and former career intelligence officer who has deployed in the Balkans, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa, Malcolm Nance is a longtime consultant for…

Patrick Radden Keefe | Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks

In conversation with Karen Heller, national features writer for The Washington Post, formerly a metro and features columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer , and a finalist for the 2001 Pulitzer Prize in commentary. “A master of…

Valerie Biden Owens | Growing Up Biden: A Memoir

Meelya Gordon Memorial Lecture In conversation with Marjorie Margolies, President, Women's Campaign International and author of And How Are the Children?: Timeless Lessons from the Frontlines of Motherhood The younger sister of…

Hugh Ryan | The Women's House of Detention: A Queer History of a Forgotten Prison

In conversation with Sayeeda Rashid, Director of the Center for Gender Resources and Sexual Education at Haverford College Hugh Ryan is the author of When Brooklyn Was Queer , a “boisterous, motley … entertaining and insightful” ( The…

Bill McKibben | The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened

“The world’s best green journalist” ( TIME ), Bill McKibben gave one of the earliest cautions about climate change with his 1989 book The End of Nature . His many other bestselling books about the environment include Falter , Deep…

Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa | His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice

In conversation with Benjamin Todd Jealous A political enterprise and investigations reporter for The Washington Post since 2011, Robert Samuels has chronicled the impact of national policies and controversies from across the United…

Matthew Continetti | The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism

In conversation with Ramesh Ponnuru, editor of National Review A senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, Matthew Continetti works in the field of American political thought and history, with an emphasis on the Republican…

Eric Holder | Our Unfinished March: The Violent Past and Imperiled Future of the Vote—A History, a Crisis, a Plan

In conversation with Tracey Matisak, award winning broadcaster and journalist The United States attorney general from 2009 to 2015, Eric Holder is the first African American to hold that position. In his 30-year career in government he…

Margo Jefferson | Constructing A Nervous System: A Memoir

In conversation with Tamala Edwards, anchor, 6ABC Action News morning edition “A national treasure” ( Vanity Fair ), Margo Jefferson won the National Book Critics Circle Award for her memoir Negroland , an examination of her upbringing…

Lawrence Jackson | Shelter: A Black Tale of Homeland, Baltimore

In conversation with Solomon Jones. Lawrence Jackson ’s award-winning books include The Indignant Generation: A Narrative History of African American Writers and Critics , biographies of Chester Himes and Ralph Ellison, and a memoir…

Marc Lamont Hill and Todd Brewster | Seen and Unseen: Technology, Social Media, and the Fight for Racial Justice

In conversation with Tracey Matisak, award winning broadcaster and journalist The host of BET News , Black News Tonight , and UpFront , Marc Lamont Hill is the Steve Charles Chair in Media, Cities, and Solutions at Temple University.…

Marie Yovanovitch | Lessons From the Edge: A Memoir

In conversation with Mitchell Orenstein, Department Chair and Professor of Russian and East European Studies, University of Pennsylvania In 2019, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch was the focus of international interest when…

Dorothy Roberts | Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families—and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World

In conversation with Marc Lamont Hill Addressing social justice issues of policing, state surveillance of families, and science, Dorothy Roberts ’s books include Killing the Black Body , Shattered Bonds , and Fatal Invention . She has…