Against All Odds

A groundbreaking examination of how the Affordable Care Act built public trust, withstood opposition, and redefined civic engagement. Can a bold new social program cultivate a supportive constituency, even as it is buffeted by political turbulence? In Against All Odds, Lawrence Jacobs, Ling Zhu, and Suzanne Mettler track the improbable journey of the Affordable Care Act, from its launch and fraught implementation, through years of fiery resistance to today, when it stands accepted as a pillar of U.S. health policy. Expanding coverage to millions, the law gradually softened polarization--even amongst Republicans--by delivering tangible benefits and restoring confidence that government can meet public needs. By 2025, sweeping budget cuts left the ACA's core protections intact, ensuring future coalitions can strengthen and expand them. Departing from the usual winner-loser narrative of lawmaking, Against All Odds reveals how health reform has nurtured a sense of shared responsibility for

Recognizing Spain as a crucial contributor to the United States' successful bid for independenceHistorians increasingly recognize the global dimensions of the American Revolutionary War, and the essays in this indispensable collection highlight the pivotal role played by Spain in the US bid for independence. Together, they cover the unheralded role of Native Americans and Spanish Black militias in the conflict, reveal new insights into the war's naval and military engagements, and assess the subsequent impact of the new United States on the Spanish American empire. In this volume, Spain emerges as a decisive rather than a declining power in a late eighteenth-century world of revolutions, one whose impact on the American Revolution is only now fully coming to light.Contributors: Jos?Mar燰 Blanco Nez, Real Academia de la Historia (Spain) * Douglas Bradburn, George Washington's Mount Vernon * Kathleen DuVal, University of North Carolina * Larrie D. Ferreiro, George Mason University * Elig