Recently, Stockton University hosted its Constitution Day lecture on campus, an event which examined the workings of our government structure as well as some historical presidencies relating to some of the crises that our current legislation has brought today. This event was interesting for a variety of reasons, one of which was providing a new perspective on some of the current fears and issues our country is struggling to overcome, as well as offering a better understanding of exactly how our government works and some of the flaws that exist within that system.

One thing that came as a surprise concerning this event was how much it focused on the history of our country, while many in attendance expected that the event would relate aspects of the constitution directly to the current ongoings of the new legislation which has sparked fear in many. While this certainly would have been an interesting lecture, what Julian Zelizer decided to to in place of this seemed like a better idea overall, and helped to shed light on the events occurring in the media today and, in a way, alleviate some of the fears that it has caused. One important aspect that the speaker touched on was that, despite what many might believe, President Trump is far from the first to act in the brash, confrontational, and aggressive manner he often assumes. As Zelizer pointed out, there are several examples of presidents with similar behaviors from both the Democratic and Republican parties, including presidents Reagan, Truman, Roosevelt, and Johnson, along with several others.

Another aspect of this current presidency that has caused such alarm is not necessarily Trump’s behavior and tactics, but rather the fact that at this time the majority of the senate is republican which, in theory, should make it easy for Trump to push through any act or law he desires. As Zelizer explained this is not, in fact, the case. Instead in many cases, especially with a president with mannerisms similar to Trump, the senate will often strongly oppose any decisions made by the president, even if they run along party lines. This is because these individuals recognize that Trump’s image is not one that the public will appreciate, and in many cases his actions have undermined the desires and instructions of  the Republican Party as a whole. As a result, the senate will often make it so no acts or laws touched by the president can be passed, in a kind of damage control attempt so that his actions do not destroy the reputation of the party.

This is very similar to what happened to president Johnson in many ways. As Zelizer explained, Johnson was known for using his imposing figure to attempt to persuade individuals to make the decisions he wanted them to. When he tried to do this with the senate at the time in order to get them to pass a bill, the senate began to reject his ideas the instant they were put forward, even though the senate was mostly composed of members from his own political party. In all, this conference event provided a new outlook on the current state of events, and was a wonderful learning experience that granted a better understanding of the world today. It is, perhaps, an indicator that a more thorough understanding of the past by the public at large could be helpful in preventing political crises such as those we face at this moment.