"The student, he said, wondered whether recent events carried any echoes of the past. Hyperbolic comparisons between modern political conflict and the horrific bloodshed of past centuries have previously been the stuff of doomsday prepper threads on Reddit, but this week's shooting made it a mainstream topic of conversation. While cautioning that the country is nowhere near as fractured as it was when the Civil War erupted, Waite and other scholars of the period say they do increasingly see parallels."
""Our current political moment is really resonating with the 1850s," the historian said. He and other scholars note similarities between the deployment of troops to American cities, widespread disillusionment with the Supreme Court, and spasms of political violence - especially from disaffected young men. "What we call polarization, they called sectionalism, and in the 1850s there was a growing sense that the sections of the country were pulling apart," said Matthew Pinsker of Dickinson University."
"Even before Kirk's alleged assassin was publicly identified as a 22-year-old who left antifascist messages, President Trump blamed the shooting on "radical left political violence." Conservative influencers amplified the rhetoric, with Trump ally Laura Loomer posting on X, "More people will be murdered if the Left isn't crushed with the power of the state." Violence was far more organized and widespread in the late 1850s, historians caution. Congressmen regularly pulled knives and pistols on one another."
Historians see growing parallels between the current political moment and the 1850s. They point to troop deployments to American cities, widespread disillusionment with the Supreme Court, and spasms of political violence, particularly among disaffected young men. Polarization today mirrors 19th-century sectionalism and a sense that parts of the country are pulling apart. Political leaders and influencers amplified violent rhetoric after a recent shooting, including President Trump blaming "radical left political violence" and a post urging crushing the Left. Historians caution that violence was far more organized and widespread in the late 1850s, with lawmakers and mobs engaging in armed confrontations.
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