Superimposed across every page of U.S. history, writ large, is R A C E: First Nations, African Americans, Chinese railroad workers, interned Japanese, Jewish refugees, Hispanics, Arabs and more. Often, the subtext is hubris and inhumanity to labor, motivated by pathological greed. African Americans, however, are the minority group that has most influenced U.S. politics.

The Democratic Party has long celebrated its genesis myth with Jefferson-Jackson dinners on Jefferson-Jackson Day. While both had positive attributes, Jefferson and Jackson were racists. (Last year, a number of states re-named the event, a move I applaud, despite the new name.) The Republican Party, on the other hand, coalesced in 1854 to fight extension of slavery to the territories and was astonishingly successful: Within four years, the Republican Party had majorities in almost every Northern state; and, within six years, it had a viable nominee for President,