Have for outreach for over 150 years and it has got an ally the critical praise the Washington Post says a professor of history at Boston College with the trajectory of modern conservativism so Publishers Weekly says that richardson under emphasizes the privilege of racism and sexism and other parts during the civil war. There is a wealth of evidence to support that provocative title. They will say live leaders will be so if you are out there in the world listening and would like to share your questions and then into that q a box at the bottom of your screen and then the second part of the program it will last about an hour now is my great pleasure to professor of history at Boston College and author of six books and those letters from an american. Welcome heather. Thank you. Also the Brooklyn Historical society to say im incredibly excited about this because the first time joanne and i to do her own stuff together and i asked her to open up way beyond my book and also to talk about how the past speaks to the current moment and whats going on in american politics today. We will certainly talk about my book she will talk about her book and that is limited to such an hour so in a sense an obvious question but one that people are wondering about so you can just those two little bits responsive to your book using words like provocative, timely. I want to start by asking how is it you came to write this book . Given how timely it is quick. You never know it will be timely when you start but i read politics all the time and i say how are people thinking about things and then later what happened in my last book the history of the Republican Party when i read conscience of a conservative it was so similar to James Henry Hammond muscle speech talking about how government is run by a few really good people that government cannot get involved because that is unconstitutional and then to be very very similar. And then the 1830 movement to push the native americans out of the south and with that congressional conversation about why is it a good thing for the indians to use their land to be forced honest at the march and why did congress have to do this . And it happened to be the same week that some football player, i dont remember which one was caught on a video dragging a girlfriend out of the elevator by her hair. But the language was the exact same the same excuse for the man dragging his girlfriend by her hair she wasnt listening and then to say why are they being pushed into oklahoma . And those other power struggles in the past. What i wanted to get to and those power struggles and with those confederates and of course that reinforces my mind allied of language and that permit certain people. And that speaks what you did talking about the importance of emotion and that he focused on the other part has to do with the motion so how did you end up writing backlogs . Youre right the book is about physical violence and the logic in the impact, what struck me and then i didnt know how much violence there was. And then the response. And then strategically and deliberately using that language to intimidate or silent or manipulate and that because it relied on emotion or fear or humiliation that if you are in congress performing before a National Audience and then you can manipulate that so along the same lines of what youre talking about and what youre interested in doing but looking at what was going on in congress how that was shape being politics overall. You use the word bullying over and over without bullying behavior so the way it take shape but thats through language. The way you put things and say things now we talk about gas lighting but you are shaping their worldview through the use of language to the established dominance and it is astonishing to me the parallels of the 18 fifties and where we are right now. I think about that even in the realm of bullying and particularly effective in politics you dont have to exert force about the threat if you are of believe are suggesting uk do ugly things if you wanted to but be sure the person being bullied response to that. Its a way to manipulate people and when it works it works. I need you to do me a favor i will do that. I could do this to you or do something. And one of the things we both share and the power of language and we take it for granted and to shape politics and that moment that it really struck you in and of itself has a shaping influence and it really shows up if you think about it but it is hard to say this matters because you cant quantify it. And in my one of my earlier books we do not quantify how this talk was important but can you stand there right now and tell me Rush Limbaugh does not matter you cannot measure it does that mean we cant study a . Because so much happened in 1954. And right after and with those mccarthy hearings and you hear them not even the language. That he is a and of bullying we dont want any part of him. After that and his brother come up with the enemy. And its a conservative. Because Movement Conservativism it is a radical movement to undo the deal and we conservatives and by liberalism they meant everybody else all the democrats and eisenhower republicans 1954 when the interstate highways and the g. I. Bill. Not everybody of course that is an exaggeration especially not as much with people of color not even and the skilled workers because of the g. I. Bill fall into the middle class with any number of things that is not obtainable so in this moment they write this book and they say we are at somebody else and they do something in that book because thats the time for the first time they capitalize conservative and liberal people talk generally we are all liberal