2020 Weeden Lecture Examined American’s “Fault Lines”

The 2020 Weeden Lecture brought Princeton University Professors Julian Zelizer and Kevin Kruse together on screen to discuss the topic of their 2019 book, “Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974.” In it, they examine the polarization of America over the last five decades, and how and why we became a divided nation.

The book grew out of a popular course Kruse and Zelizer co-teach, and their rapport was evident as they alternated in presenting their thesis. “The pardon is a great way to start our story,” said Zelizer early in the lecture, referring to the 1974 pardon of ex-President Richard Nixon by his successor, then-President Gerald Ford. He painted the incident as a turning point following a period of relative consensus in the country, splitting public loyalties and triggering a growing distrust of government generally. Kruse built on this foundation, citing four major “fault lines” – forces that, over time, have fueled a widening gulf in the American landscape: political polarization, economic inequality, racial division, and gender issues.

Ultimately, though, Kruse and Zelizer place the greatest blame for a divided America on the media. As technology expanded the number of news and information options, they say, media content became more and more individualized. America went from three major broadcast networks, all with a similar view of the world, to a host of cable channels and now streaming services, each seeking to carve out its own identity. Kruse called it “narrowcasting.” He also pointed out that new technology also led to the 1987 death of the “fairness doctrine,” which required the presentation of public issues in an “honest, equitable, and balanced” manner.

The proliferation of talk radio followed, with a listenership that was 70% politically conservative, and in 1996, Rupert Murdoch launched Fox News. During the 2000 presidential election coverage, the media aligned on a color scheme to represent liberal and conservative parts of the country, and the red and blue states were born. Kruse likened the resulting image of the electoral map to “an apparent civil war.”

Moderators Erik Chaput and Regan Kerney of Lawrenceville’s History Department fielded a series of thoughtful questions from the audience. In response, Kruse called the Electoral College “a calamity in the making” and cited the need to “hold the people in charge accountable” if we hope to restore national unity. Zelizer acknowledged the history of Congressional dysfunction, but countered that in earlier eras, unlike the present, “governance mattered … (replaced by) intense partisanship as a guiding principle.” Both Kruse and Zelizer agreed that the silver lining in this moment is the participation of young Americans in government.

Julian Zelizer is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs, Princeton School of Public & International Affairs. Kevin Kruse is a Professor of History, a John Simon Guggenheim Fellow, and has been named a Distinguished Lecturer by the Organization of American Historians. Both have written extensively on American political history.

Established by Walter Buckley, Jr. ’56 P’96 ’99 GP’09 to honor the memory of history teacher and coach Charles F. “Chuck” Weeden, III H’65 P’77 ’79 ’87, the Weeden Lecture Series brings noted American historians to campus to speak with students, faculty and members of the Lawrenceville community.

For additional information, please contact Lisa M. Gillard Hanson, director of Public Relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.