By Ava Cole ’22, News Editor

The United States, many people may argue, has never been more politically divided than it is today. There is, of course, some truth behind this statement. It’s clear that both parties view their opposition as threats to core American values and way of life; a study from Pew Research before the 2020 election found that 90% of both Trump and Biden supporters believe that if the other wins, it would result in lasting damage to the U.S. Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have amplified these political divisions, as, with a click of a button, one can unleash a flurry of nasty remarks about those with opposing political ideals. It’s even clearer now, after the recent riots at the U.S Capitol, that America is fractured. While many events over the recent few years have been unprecedented, the political polarization we are seeing is anything but. 

Political polarization can be traced back to the very beginning of America’s independence in 1776. Americans who wanted to break free from British rule were known as Patriots, and those who believed in loyalty to the Crown were deemed Loyalists. Due to their political beliefs, Loyalists were driven out of their communities and forced to go into hiding or seek refuge at a British military camp. Their businesses were destroyed by Patriots, and any show of loyalty to Britain resulted in the endangerment of their lives. Even during the birth of our nation there was great political division. 

Politics continued to divide the nation throughout the nineteenth century. This division was visible in the rising popularity of duels, where political opponents faced each other, guns ablazing. Alexander Hamilton, a famous member of the Federalist Party, died in a duel against Democratic-Republican Aaron Burr in 1804. In 1826, John Randolph criticized Secretary of State Henry Clay in a speech on the Senate floor, to which Clay responded with a formal challenge to a duel. Even Abraham Lincoln narrowly escaped a duel after ridiculing an elected Illinois official in the local newspaper. It is often argued that political debates today are uncivil, but taking a look back at history, civility has never been a constant. 

Of course, the most obvious and most studied example of political polarization is the Civil War in 1865. Although now slavery is unanimously agreed to be a question of morality, it was considered to be a question of politics in the 1800s. During this time, Democrats in the South were at odds with Republicans in the North over the continuation of slavery, which led to the secession of 11 states from the Union, and eventually the deaths of 620,000 Americans. There is no greater act of division than a civil war. 

Now, in 2020, Americans express their concerns about the state of the nation. Can we continue to live in such a divisive country? Will Democrats and Republicans ever see eye to eye?  Looking at American history, it seems that political polarization has been a long-established part of American culture, and will continue to be for quite some time.