Central Coast historian weighs in on significance of new presidency
CENTRAL COAST, Calif. (KION) Inauguration Day in America went on without a hitch in Washington on Wednesday, in the traditional ceremony marking a transition of presidential power.
Monterey-based political analyst Dr. David Anderson spoke with KION about what the new administration needs to do to unite all corners of the country in this time of heightened division.
He says the challenges facing the country right now are enormous, including the still-raging COVID-19 pandemic, an economic crisis as well as deep social divisions within the nation.
Dr. Anderson says you really have to go back as far as the Civil War in the 1860s to reach a time where an inauguration took place in such national turmoil. During that time, the northern and southern states actually did fall into what remains the bloodiest conflict in American history.
He says after the assault on the capitol building in Washington two weeks ago, there were serious questions about whether the democracy would survive, especially under such unprecedented threats that surfaced before Inauguration Day.
Dr. Anderson says the new administration needs to focus on unity to bring the country back, just like President Abraham Lincoln all those years ago.
"He was also all about unity. 'With malice toward none and justice for all.' That was part of his Second Inaugural Address. He tried, even in the midst of war, to keep the country together. He chose Andrew Johnson to be his vice president as a measure of unity," said Dr. Anderson.
The unprecedented security to protect the ceremonies and the officials in the new administration also highlight this time of deep division. While the inauguration went off without a hitch, we all saw the lengths which the federal government went to secure the capital.
Dr. Anderson says the Storming of the Capitol in Washington two weeks ago was an incredibly sad moment in our nation's history. But he says while radicals and autocrats mock democracy as weak and easily intimidated, the country's leaders overcame the challenges and showed the world democracy still lives here in the United States.
When asked whether the US Constitution would still provide for "a more perfect Union" today, Dr. Anderson was confident it could.
"Oh, absolutely because when they wrote those words, the United States was still an idea, the United States was still a work in progress," he said. "They had a constitution, they had 13 states, not all of which voted right away for the Constitution. Some of them waited to see how it was going to work."
"So 'to form a more perfect Union' has always been a goal, an aspiration, knowing it's always a work in progress and it's still a work in progress," he continued.
As of this morning, no matter what political party you align with, the nation has its first woman, African and Asian American vice president. We also have our oldest serving president, Joe Biden, who is 78 years old.
Dr. Anderson says this new administration needs to focus on unity to bring the country past this pandemic and other divisions the nation is still facing.
PREVIOUS ARTICLE: Wednesday marks the start of a new presidency in the United States after the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, D.C.
It comes at a time where the nation stands deeply divided over its future.
KION's Josh Kristianto will speak with a local historian with his perspective on what should happen now tonight at 5 and 6 p.m.
