A bombshell was dropped last month when Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert Hur released his findings on President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents. The good news for Biden was Hur does not plan to bring charges. However, the bad news was that even though Hur concluded that Biden was actually guilty, no jury would convict him because Biden is too old and has, “limited precision and recall.” Hur’s ultimate conclusion was that Biden is “a sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.” The statements—though probably politically motivated—are damning to the president because to many they only confirm what they already suspect: Biden is too old and will never make four more years.

Age has always been a concern for presidential elections. It was one of the biggest issues facing Ronald Reagan when he ran for president at age 73. Yet that is now seeming young compared to the two presumptive candidates with Trump at age 77 and Biden at 81.

With Biden, between the reports and what seems like mental slips in the last few years, voters have wondered what happens if the president becomes mentally unable to fulfill his duties. Historically speaking, it would not be the first time a president was mentally incapacitated, only the first time it happened that the public never knew.

In 1912 the very progressive ex-governor of New Jersey, Woodrow Wilson was elected President of the United States as a Democrat, only the second since James Buchanan’s 1856 election. As a progressive, he shaped the direction of the nation including instituting income tax, direct election of senators and women’s suffrage. While in office, arguably Wilson’s two biggest events were personally the marriage to his second wife Edith Galt Wilson in 1915, and internationally the beginning of WWI in 1914. Wilson used American neutrality in the war as his campaign slogan, “Vote for Wilson! He kept us out of war,” when he ran for reelection in 1916. Yet it was only about a year later that America sided with the Allies and started shipping soldiers off to France.

Historians debate whether Wilson intended all along to enter the war. Those who believe he always planned on fighting do not believe his progressive nature would allow him to stay out of a fight that had such important outcomes. The war changed the map of Europe and toppled four major empires. Wilson knew the only way he would have a seat at the table after the war was as a fighting participate. Wilson, who held a Ph.D. in history and government from Johns Hopkins University and had served as president of Princeton University, was so confident he could solve all the worlds issues he showed up at the negotiating table with his Thirteen Points and expected to dominate the meeting. While Wilson did not get all his points into the Treaty of Versailles, he did get his most desired point: establishing the League of Nations, an international body that could solve future problems before they escalated into war.

The problem for Wilson was the Republican congress back home. Knowing the treaty needed congressional ratification, Wilson should have consulted with key Republicans on the treaty, but he was not that kind of president. When he presented the treaty to the Senate it was rejected, especially the League of Nations.

However, instead of compromising with Republican senators, Wilson took his cause to the people. He believed that the people would rally to his cause and force the Senate to accept the League. For months Wilson rode a train around the nation giving whistlestop speeches to any crowd that would listen. However, in October, overworked and physically exhausted, the president suffered from a stroke that left him paralyzed and mentally impaired.

Instead of reporting the stroke, Edith and a small group decided to cover it up and tell the American people he was suffering from exhaustion. While the government continued to function normally Edith began making the executive decisions, including meeting with cabinet members and foreign dignitaries. When Republicans demanded an audience, Edith pulled a scene straight out of Weekend at Bernie’s, where she dressed Wilson up, put his bed in the shadows with his paralyzed side to the wall. Wilson was able to pull it off with enough ability to carry a very short conversation to appease his detractors. Edith pulled off the act for over a year, knowing that, if discovered, the League of Nations would be doomed. In the end, it did not matter as the Republicans voted down American membership in the League, killing it before it even got started. As for Wilson, Edith was able to keep his secret until President Warren G. Harding was inaugurated.

I’m not sure if Jill Biden would be up to the task like Edith Wilson, but fortunately, if something were to happen to the president there are now laws in place. After the death of President John F. Kennedy, Congress pushed through the 25th Amendment that set up the line of accession to the presidency. In Section Four it states, “Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.”

This section allowed for the president to be replaced if he is no longer able to perform his executive duties. While so far this amendment has only been used temporarily, mostly for colonoscopies, there are many who believe it might be enacted for the first time no matter which elderly statesman holds the office.

James Finck is a professor of history at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. He may be reached at HistoricallySpeaking1776@gmail.com.

For many, the Gilded Age (1877-1900) is the most boring part of political history. All the presidents were bearded white men from New York or Ohio who are hard to distinguish. In fact, it was just as hard to differentiate between Republicans and Democrats, being that neither really did very much.

Elections were always exciting as the contests were very close and because there was still no secret ballot, both parties did everything they could to influence voters including massive picnics with great deals of alcohol. Elections were such a celebration that voter turnout was around 80%. Once the secret ballot was instituted and politicians could no longer control the votes, voting rates dropped down into the 40s in the next century.

It’s surprising how large voter turnout was in the Gilded Age considering the lack of differences between the two parties. Republicans remained the classic conservatives of positive government, which simply meant they just did a little more. If we look at the government’s role based on the Preamble to the Constitution, then it has three jobs: ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense and promote the general Welfare. For domestic tranquility the main job the government did was use the army to break up strikes, really nothing else. For common defense, it did maintain a small army. But up to that point, America had never believed a democracy should maintain a standing army, that would only allow for tyranny. When an army was required, the people should filled its ranks. (Think Second Amendment.) America will not maintain a standing army until the Cold War (1947-1991). As for general welfare, the government promoted economic growth through tariffs, but that was very controversial. The government also sold cheap land in the West to bring in some income. There was no concept of any type of safety net, but the largest government expenditure was Union soldier pensions after the Civil War.

As for parties, Republicans looked closer to today’s liberals than conservatives. They were the party of big government; their constituency was comprised of businessmen because the party pushed for economic growth and protective tariffs to help American businesses. Black Americans, when they could vote, overwhelmingly voted Republican because it was the party of Lincoln and emancipation. Strong Protestants supported the party because they pushed for moral reforms like outlawing alcohol and gambling. Finally, Union soldiers voted Republican because of the pensions.

As for Democrats, they were the reverse and more closely resemble today’s Republican Party. They believed the best form of government is one that governs the least. This philosophy drew support from white Southerners who wanted the least government interference possible. It also drew support from Northern immigrants in the cities. Most of these were Catholics who believed it was the Church’s job to regulate morality, not the government.

The biggest issue for Democrats was that they were the party of white supremacy. This was not something they shied away from, but they openly supported segregation, Jim Crow laws and ending Reconstruction (the era between 1865 and 1877 where the government abolished slavery, reintegrated once-seceded states and rebuilding the South after the Civil War).

Even though elections were always close, Republicans dominated during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age. After Republican Ulysses S. Grant completed his presidency, another Republican, Rutherford B. Hayes, from Ohio, won in 1876. James Garfield, Republican from Ohio, was elected in 1880. Garfield was assassinated and was replaced by New York Republican Chester Arthur. A Democrat did win in 1884 with Grover Cleveland from New York, but Cleveland lost reelection in 1884 to Republican Benjamin Harrison from Ohio. In 1892, Cleveland came back and won making him the only two-term, nonconsecutive U.S. president. Finally Ohio Republican William McKinley won the presidency in 1896.

This last election of the Gilded Age was held in 1896. Officially part of the Gilded Age, it is my third favorite election and is a game-changer in American politics. In a Hail Mary attempt, Democrats completely changed their political ideology which guided them down the long road towards being the liberal party that they are today.

In the future, this series will resume with the 20th century and how the modern-day Republicans and Democrats came into being.

James Finck is a professor of history at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. He may be reached at HistoricallySpeaking1776@gmail.com.

An amendment meant to keep ex-Confederates from holding office after the Civil War is once again coming into play as Colorado and Maine announced that former President Donald Trump will not appear on the ballot of their upcoming presidential primaries.

The 14th Amendment, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution states, “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”

Setting aside any feelings about Trump and simply looking at this legally, personally, I do not understand how someone not convicted of insurrection can be disqualified in the name of democracy. However, I will leave that argument to legal scholars and instead try to correct a popular online statement that Democrats have done this before with Abraham Lincoln in 1860. While it is true Lincoln was not on any ballots in the South, it’s not because of Democrats’ interference but because there was no official ballot in 1860.

During most of the 19th century, the government did not print official ballots. In fact, during the first several elections, nothing was written down at all. A voter came to the courthouse on voting day, swore on the Bible he was who he claimed he was (the first form of voter ID), and then announced his vote to the clerk who recorded it. Eventually voting turned to paper, but mostly written on scrap paper or ballots printed in newspapers, but the voting was still public knowledge. Being a public ballot allowed for political machines like Tammany Hall to form and control votes, especially from new immigrants. Eventually, parties began printing their own ballots already filled out and could pass them to their supporters. With most immigrants, a party representative met them on the docks and let them know that a job and lodging was prepared for them and all they had to do was vote for their man. Parties even color-coded their ballots to guarantee compliance at the open polls.

It was during this time that Lincoln ran for president in 1860. Since the government did not produce a ballot, there is no way it could have excluded Lincoln in the South. The exclusion actually came from Lincoln’s own party. Because the Republican Party had no foothold in the South, there were no Republicans to create or distribute a ballot.

The only slave states where Lincoln received any popular votes were along the border where the Party had some support: Delaware at 23%, Kentucky at .9%, Maryland at 2.4% and Missouri at 10.3%. As a side note, one major reason the Deep South seceded quickly after Lincoln’s victory was because he could begin to give out government jobs. The fear was Southerners might become Republicans simply for the lucrative positions and by the next election Republicans would have printed ballots.

After the Civil War, political machines continued to pressure voters with public ballots leading to calls for reform. Finally in the 1880s, states began going with the Australian System where the government printed ballots and voters submitted them in secret in an attempt to stop the corruption. It was about this time that voter turnout dropped from around 80% to 40%. With the open ballot, parties did what they could to get voters to the polls knowing they could control them. Once they lost control, parties no longer made sure everyone showed up.

If looking for a better example to fit the current situation, look no further than Eugene Debs in the 1920 Election. Debs had run for president four times as a Socialist Party candidate. This fifth time was different as he was serving a ten-year stint in prison for violating the Sedition Act. In 1918, during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson pushed through the Sedition Act making it illegal to criticize the government or the war. That same year Debs gave a speech criticizing both which landed him in jail. His sentence only grew his support and in 1920 the Socialist Party nominated “Convict 2253” for president.  Even while serving time for attacking the nation, Debs was allowed on the ballot. Probably the biggest difference is Debs only polled 3.4% of popular votes, whereas if Trump is allowed to run, he might possibly win.

We are walking in uncharted territory with Trump’s primary ban. While the 14th Amendment does not require a criminal conviction, this could set a dangerous precedent. Even when Debs was convicted, he was allowed to run. Fortunately, the Supreme Court decided to take up the case.

James Finck is a professor of history at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. He may be reached at HistoricallySpeaking1776@gmail.com.

Editor’s Note: The Supreme Court’s succinct ruling made it clear: under the Constitution’s “insurrectionist ban,” states lack the authority to disqualify a federal candidate from the ballot. The Court emphasized that this responsibility lies with Congress, not the states. Consequently, the implications of this decision extend well beyond the initial dispute in Colorado, indicating its broad impact.