Donald Trump’s former Attorney General Jeff Sessions may have gained some sympathy from the constant attacks he suffered from the president after he recused himself from Robert Mueller’s special investigation. But that should not excuse Sessions from the judgment of historians as they evaluate his leadership of the Justice Department from January 2017 to November 2018. Sessions was  arguably the most abusive and disgraceful Attorney General in history.

After the two latest mass shootings last  weekend (August 3-4, 2019) in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, Americans once again mourned the lives lost and worried for the future. The weekend’s shootings were just two of 250 such massacres in 216 days in 2019. As many of these tragedies were connected to an explicit political philosophy, Americans must face the threat of assassination attempts against the Democratic Presidential contenders.

As Robert Mueller testifies this week before Congress, the United States Department of Justice is once again in the spotlight. Earlier this summer, the House of Representatives held Attorney General William Barr in contempt for his refusal to comply with a subpoena on the 2020 census. Barr is hardly the first AG who has used his appointment as Attorney General to promote lawlessness and injustice.

The 2020 election presents a unique opportunity to elect a “new generation of leadership” to the presidency. The American public has done so before, as represented by John F. Kennedy in 1960; Jimmy Carter in 1976; Bill Clinton in 1992; and Barack Obama in 2008.

A century ago, historian Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. argued that history occurs in cycles. His son, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., furthered this theory in his own scholarship. As I reflect on Schlesinger’s work and the history of the United States, it seems clear to me that American history has three 74-year-long cycles. America has had four major crisis turning points, each 74 years apart, from the time of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 to today.

As I’ve written before, random circumstances often shape history. Unexpected tragedy in the lives of three political leaders—John F. Kennedy, Jr., Paul Wellstone, and Joe Biden—further demonstrate the profound impact of chance on political history.

In the past half century, America has had three Democratic Presidents — Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama—who all pursued peace and reconciliation in international affairs and diplomacy. The goal has been to repair historical divisions and resolve conflicts where possible.

As multiple politicians have announced their 2020 presidential campaigns, many pundits continue to speculate if former Texas Congressman Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke of El Paso, Texas will enter the race. The paths to the presidency of four presidents—Jimmy Carter, Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln, and George H.W. Bush—suggest Beto’s campaign could be successful.