America is a nation defined by the wars and battles that it took to be born, but today, its greatest struggle is the deepening division that threatens to undo centuries of progress. Just days after the first anniversary of Jan. 6, 2025, the country faces a serious divide that looks impossible to fix. From the battlefields of the Civil War to the advanced technology we see today, the rift has only deepened.

Understanding why political conversations have turned into heated arguments requires exploring history’s scars that created our current political situation. Peggy Scully, an attorney and former chairman for the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), shares her perspective on the subject, focusing on the system that brought the nation together.

“I have a feeling of what our founding fathers did and for them, with such a cohesive design that has stood up to the test of time for 250 years, is pretty darn amazing,” Scully said. “Our country’s foundation is the envy of every freedom-loving country in the world.”

Even with this strong design, the fight for unity in the nation has always been a part of American history, especially highlighted by its most destructive war. Similar to Scully’s opinion on political divisions in the United States, AP U.S. history teacher Peter Palen agrees that the Civil War in the mid-1800s was the biggest reason for lasting changes, showing that the fight for national unity is always present in American life.

“The Civil War was the United States’ first big step in becoming a multiracial democracy,” Palen said. “Democracy is messy, but it remains the benchmark against which all modern divisions are measured.”

The Civil War exposed the deep divisions at the heart of America, forcing the nation to confront its greatest flaws. Scully reimagined how painful and personal the conflict must have become for families across the country.

“The Civil War was so devastating because it truly divided families—brothers fighting against brothers over something as inhumane as slavery,” Scully said. “You can only imagine how hard it was for people to come to terms with that.”

Events like the Civil War leave a mark that lasts long after the fighting ends. Kendra Caralis, an honors U.S. history teacher, believes the wounds left by the Civil War set the stage for later conflicts.

“I mean, I think the Civil War is kind of the foundation of separation and differences in our country,” Caralis said. “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”

Scully points out that the sense of division from the past hasn’t disappeared—it continues to shape interactions in America today. She believes that early conflicts set the stage for current political divisions.

“We decided that instead of looking at, you know, our next-door neighbor as our brother or as our sister, we looked at them as a Republican, a Democrat, or another political label,” Scully said. “I fear that in the future, if you’re not on one side or the other, you’re not going to be able to talk about the political system in the United States.”

Apart from politics, massive technological and economic changes also shaped American society. Scully believes the Industrial Revolution is one of the greatest long-term shifts in American society.

“The Industrial Revolution had such a big impact on the US because it took us away from the family unit, the home, and the farm; the woman came out of the home and went into the workforce,” Scully said. “It profoundly affected gender politics and gave women the opportunity to both manage their work in the home and earn a wage at something outside of the home.”

While the Industrial Revolution reshaped the nation internally by changing family structure and work, later global events started to make the country look outward instead. Big challenges around the world, especially the shocking terrorist attack, 9/11, shifted America’s focus. Palen highlights the attack’s legacy.

“I would say that the most recent event that had the biggest impact on the United States is 9/11 because I think it has marked 20 years of foreign policy,” Palen said. “It redefined the scope of national security and fundamentally changed how America interacts with the world.”

This horrific event ended up temporarily pulling the nation together. AP government student Alice Gabel ’27 recognized this unique moment.

“I feel like 9/11 created the biggest change in the U.S. because I noticed that it seemed to bring people closer, even if just for a while,” Gabel said. “People set aside their differences and focused on supporting one another through a difficult time.”

While 9/11 provided a unifying moment for the nation, the acceleration of digital platforms dramatically changed how younger generations receive and process information. AP US history student Christopher Coyle ’28 speaks to this ongoing transformation, describing the new, and often unreliable, primary source of news for his peers. The convenience of the small information destroys the need for deep research.

“I feel like we mostly learn about them from social media and the news,” Coyle said. “My number one source of information is Instagram.”

Often, unverified information highlights division and makes it nearly impossible for the public to maintain faith in institutional leaders. As a result, trust in these institutions continues to decline.

“There’s a credibility gap in the United States that has been growing,” Palen said. “People don’t want to believe in government institutions or their leaders.”

The Covid-19 pandemic fused the political divisions with technological acceleration. Gabel notes the permanent shift toward remote work and accessibility.

“I feel like everything is done online now, and everything is more accessible online,” Gabel said. “I also think it has made it a lot easier to work from home.”

Caralis agrees that the workplace has permanently changed. However, she believes the emotional weight of the pandemic will fade, becoming purely technical in history.

“I feel like in the future, we’ll look back at COVID and see the shift to working from home, working from different places, and how much more was computerized,” Caralis said. “I think people will forget there was real fear during that time, and it’ll just seem like a technical change rather than the emotional experience it really was.”

These huge changes in society led to a big divide during the recent elections, which both students and teachers view as the most impactful political event. Gabel pinpointed the election as the moment that solidified the sense of national fracture.

“I feel like the election had such a big impact on the U.S. because I feel like this country has gotten so divided,” Gabel said. “I think the election just exposed how deeply people disagree—and how hard it will be to fix that.”

Students aren’t the only ones seeing the division clearly; teachers also know how deep the split was when looking at history as a whole. Caralis made a strong comparison to earlier times of disagreement to show just how serious today’s divide is.

“I think we’re more divided now,” Caralis said. “I think we have been, at least in my memory, there’s been when people didn’t agree with Bush after 9/11, and that’s nowhere near where we are now. We’re so much more hateful and divided.”

This political bitterness has stripped away the basic civility needed for a healthy democracy. What used to be a place for open debate has now turned into an environment where people are quicker to attack each other than to listen or compromise.

“You know, there used to be civil arguments in the United States,” Scully said. “I would hope that the conversation would be more respectful and that we would stop with the name-calling and the demonizing of the other side.”

However, Palen points out that political tension is common in democratic societies and may be emphasized by the media.

“I think a good amount of division is healthy,” Palen said. “You don’t want a society where everybody has the same opinions and focus.”

Despite the sense of division, some suggest that the solution lies in a renewed commitment to education and civil communication—a return to respectful disagreement rather than demonization. Palen believes the path forward begins in the classroom by modeling respectful debate.

“I think it all begins with education,” Palen said. “Parents too, to teach their kids to have an open mind and to have a relationship and a conversation with people who see things in a different way than you.”

Students like Coyle recognize their role and how they must play in defining this era, viewing it as a moment to secure their own future and a time for action.

“I feel like this is our time,” Coyle said. “We gotta do what we want to do, make sure things go our way.”

Ultimately, for the country to overcome its current challenges, it must move beyond self-interest and rediscover national purpose. The hope for a more unified future depends on the ability for everyone to find common ground and make sacrifices for the greater good.

“Our generation gives me hope,” Scully said. “People give me hope. When everything is said and done, the greatest gift to this country is encouraging the next generation and helping them understand what they’ve been given. There’s no greater resource than the next generation and their ability to create a better society for themselves.”