In the 1850s stories about desperate runaway slaves trying to evade capture in the northern states aroused sympathy for the fugitives and stoked anti-slavery sentiment. A related impact seems to be taking shape in our times. Videos showing the tragic experiences of undocumented immigrants grabbed by ICE agents are provoking negative responses from the American public. Polls register growing criticism of the Trump Administration’s efforts to arrest, detain, and deport thousands of people that have lived and worked in the United States for many years.

The situations involving fugitive slaves and fugitive immigrants are different, yet a comparison is intriguing. Reactions to tragic cases involving fugitive slaves affected national politics in the 1850s. Outrage over the aggressive treatment of immigrants might shake up current politics.

When a refugee from Afghanistan allegedly shot two National Guardsmen in Washington D.C., discussions about the tragedy invoked memories of America’s chaotic exit from Afghanistan in 2021. Partisans invoked different lessons when describing that crisis. Republicans blamed President Joe Biden. They said he failed to plan an orderly withdrawal. Democrats blamed President Donald Trump. They pointed out that he arranged a pact with the Taliban that established a deadline for removing all U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

These sharply critical judgments about the American-led evacuation from Kabul, Afghanistan are short-sighted and essentially wrong.

No military withdrawal from Afghanistan was easily workable after twenty years of vast U.S. involvement in that country. In view of many challenges, the removal of U.S. troops and U.S. citizens along with 124,000 Afghans in August 2021 was a relative success.

American Society is now deeply split along ideological and cultural lines. When did this polarization intensify?

One among several key turning points occurred in 1987 when President Ronald Reagan nominated Robert Bork for a seat on the Supreme Court. Bork’s controversial statements about American society and the law provoked intense opposition. Senators rejected the nomination.

Many of the issues raised in that Senate hearing are familiar to us today. Robert Bork was an influential promoter of culture wars over identities,, values, and ideologies, and he championed the Unitary Executive Theory that justifies enormous presidential power.