Commentary: J. Mark Powell - The bloody past of nation s Capitol
J. Mark Powell
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‘We have built no temple but the Capitol. We consult no common oracle but the Constitution.”
Those words, from former Massachusetts Sen. Rufus Choate, are inscribed on the wall of the U.S. Capitol the same walls desecrated by rioters who ransacked the building. For many Americans, seeing such acts of violence and vandalism occurring in the Capitol was something unimaginable.
In fact, our civic “temple” has a surprisingly bloody history. It was still under construction when British troops seized it during the War of 1812. The Brits torched the structure, also destroying the U.S. Supreme Court and the Library of Congress, which were both housed there. Only a violent thunderstorm’s arrival put out the flames, thus sparing the original walls, which are incorporated in today’s building.
The Austerity Politics of White Supremacy
Since the end of the Confederacy, the cult of the âtaxpayerâ has provided a socially acceptable veneer for racist attacks on democracy. A composite photograph of South Carolina s majority-black legislature created and circulated by opponents of Reconstruction (Library of Congress)
From the Southern strategy of the 1960s to Donald Trumpâs refusal to concede the presidential election, it is easy to trace the Republican Partyâs decades-long descent into racial authoritarianism. Despite the presidentâs unhinged response to the election results, the real locus of power is the Senate, where Republican legislators have been striking sober-sounding notes about the need for smaller government, an end to relief spending, and the danger of higher taxes. Those desperate to see a return to normalcy may hail this born-again fiscal conservatism as a departure from Trumpâs racist, antidem
Una violencia contra el Capitolio que se remonta hasta el inicio del siglo XIX lagaceta.com.ar - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lagaceta.com.ar Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
They damn near lost the building.
It’s an overwrought metaphor. You’ve heard it before. The Capitol Dome, piercing the Washington, D.C., skyline, is a symbol of democracy. A beacon of freedom throughout the world.
The U.S. Capitol is that. But it’s also an office building. A museum. An art gallery. And, the U.S. Capitol is the temple where American history plays out.
It all unfolds under the Capitol Dome.
Machinations in the building are synthesized with what the rest of the country is going through at any given moment.
Debates and legislation about slavery. The first shot fired in the Civil War came in the Old Senate chamber as Rep. Preston Brooks, D-S.C., nearly beat to death Sen. Charles Sumner, R-Mass., with a cane.