The sesquicentennial of the Civil War is an opportunity to revisit its legacy; the many ways that it continues to affect our society and culture. Here, Professor Ballard Campbell, an expert in American political history, discusses how the political divisions of the 1860s continue to resonate in our politics. Campbell is a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians.
3Qs: Larger issues in debt-limit debate
On Monday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress the U.S. has reached its debt ceiling — the limit on how much money the government can borrow. Not only has raising this limit been at times a contentious political issue, it also raises larger issues related to the U.S. economy’s long-term health, says Kamran Dadkhah, associate professor of economics at Northeastern University.