In 1952, following President Truman’s decision not to seek another term in office, there was an open seat for the presidency, and it was hotly contested.  The campaign of General Dwight Eisenhower, the Republican nominee, was doing well at defining the Democratic nominee, Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson II.  Stevenson came from a wealthy background and had the air of an intellectual—and he was one.  Eisenhower’s allies in politics and the press exploited this, since intellectuals rarely fare well in American politics.  They dubbed him “Egghead”, taking the positive of intellect and turning it into a negative, with the added benefit of making fun of the governor’s baldness.  Eisenhower himself didn’t have much hair, either, but somehow such superficial attacks didn’t stick to the popular general. On Labor Day, with two months to go in the presidential election, Stevenson had some unexpected luck.  While preparing for a speech in Flint, Michigan, pho...

What do you do when you and your spouse have gotten to where you just can’t reconcile your differences anymore?  Often this means lawyers and alimony, but if the two of you are looking to split amicably, a short trip to the county courthouse is probably enough.  Sign some papers, agree to split up the property, work out what to do with the children and the pets, and you’re done.  Divorces like this might or might not be the norm (I’m hardly an expert in that), but they are an option.  This wasn’t always the case, though. Ending a marriage simply because the two partners fell out of love or tired of each other has only been recently considered legally acceptable.  Religious institutions have long forbidden divorce (though even clergy have always been known to make exceptions), which probably has something to do with secular law also making divorce difficult, if not impossible.  Secular law has always tended to be more lenient than religious law, but even s...