Politics, features and articles | Educational Science

Nov 3, 2020

What happens if a president loses an election but won't leave the White House?

President Donald Trump has suggested he would not accept the results of the 2020 presidential election if he were to lose. Let's say he does lose and he refuses to leave the White House. What then? Nothing like this has ever happened in American history, so it's difficult to know...

Nov 4, 2020

A history of contested presidential elections, from Samuel Tilden to Al Gore

As states continue to count their ballots in the 2020 election, it seems possible that Democrats and Republicans will end up in court over whether President Trump will win a second term in the White House. President Trump has said he’s going to contest the election results – going so...

Nov 4, 2020

Who invented the Electoral College?

The delegates in Philadelphia agreed, in the summer of 1787, that the new country they were creating would not have a king but rather an elected executive. But they did not agree on how to choose that president. Pennsylvania delegate James Wilson called the problem of picking a president in...

Nov 24, 2020

Margaret Thatcher: Facts about the controversial prime minister in 'The Crown'

More than 30 years since she was last in power, Margaret Thatcher remains a divisive figure in Britain. Some see the prime minister as having saved the country from economic decline, while others believe she destroyed the livelihoods of millions of workers. But none can deny that Thatcher became a...

Jan 6, 2021

What is sedition?

On Wednesday (Jan. 6), armed supporters of President Donald Trump forced their way into the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., waving Confederate and pro-Trump flags as they stormed the steps and breached the building. Shortly before the rioters broke into the Capitol, President Trump spoke at a rally saying we...

Jan 7, 2021

What is the 25th amendment?

After an unruly mob of President Donald Trump's supporters violently stormed the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday (Jan. 6) reportedly at Trump's behest, citizens and lawmakers are urging Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Invoking the amendment would immediately remove Trump...

Jan 8, 2021

What is a coup?

When armed supporters of President Donald Trump broke into and vandalized the United States Capitol on Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C., many were chanting Stop the steal, referring to President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the recent election. Some wore sweatshirts reading Civil War with the date January 6, 2021. Their...

Jan 13, 2021

How does impeachment work?

On Jan. 13, 2021, President Trump became the first president to face impeachment twice. Impeachment is the leveling of charges against an elected official by a legislative body. It's a fairly rare event in U.S. politics, particularly at the presidential level. But when impeachment proceedings do happen, they are guided...

Jan 15, 2021

Inauguration day: Why presidents must wait 2 months to start

More than two months after he was elected to be the 46th president of the United States, Joseph Biden will be officially sworn in to office on Wednesday Jan. 20, 2021. But if votes are cast in November, why does so much time elapse between the election and the inauguration...

Jan 25, 2021

Facts don't convince people in political arguments. Here's what does.

In his inaugural address last week, President Joe Biden called for unity. But how can Americans come together, given what seems to be growing political contention and deep divides? New research suggests the answer can be found in stories, not statistics. People respect those they disagree with more when their...

Feb 23, 2021

Extremists struggle with certain kinds of brain processing, research shows

Scientists have found the psychological signature of people who are likely to hold dogmatic or extremist views. It makes sense, the researchers said, as people who are dogmatic tend to be impulsive but also slow to process perceptual information. Extremists — regardless of whether they are right-wing or left-wing —...

Feb 24, 2021

Conservatives aren't more fearful than liberals, study finds

Are conservatives more afraid of threats than liberals? Political psychologists have long found evidence that people on the right are more sensitive to scary stuff, on average, than people on the left, a basic psychological difference thought to drive some political disagreements between the two groups. But new research suggests...

Jul 15, 2021

Who was Karl Marx?

Karl Marx was a German philosopher, economist, historian and journalist who is best known for his work as a radical political theorist and socialist revolutionary. In collaboration with fellow theorist and benefactor Friedrich Engels, Marx published The Communist Manifesto in 1848, which became the basis for communism. His writings remain...

Nov 7, 2021

What does the president do all day?

Presidents are seemingly everywhere: campaigning for themselves and like-minded politicians, promoting their agenda among the public and Congress, and even hosting winning sports teams at the White House. But what, exactly, does the U.S. president do all day? Being a president isn't only about the public speeches and ceremonial meetings...

Nov 29, 2021

What is fascism?

Fascism is a complex and mutable political ideology, which came to prominence in the 1920s and 1930s in Europe. The most notorious examples of fascist governments have been Bennito Mussolini’s National Fascist Party in Italy from 1922 to 1943 and Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist German Workers' Party (Nazi Party) from...