Professor Hugh Davis Graham, director of the Institute of Southern History at Johns Hopkins University and co-director of the History and Comparative Task Force for the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, speaks about the paradox of American violence from a historical perspective. Professor Graham comments on the prevalence of national commissions and the experience, requirements, and expectations of “commissionmanship.” He argues that when it comes to studying and understanding social phenomena, the “historian’s sense of the particular and the unique is critical to social explanation.” He explains that, historically speaking, violence in the United States is paradoxical because, despite its prevalence, it has rarely, if ever, successfully targeted public or democratic institutions. He argues that American capitalism, pluralism, and affluence create social and economic conditions that encourage infighting and inter-fighting between social groups instead of rebellion against governmental institutions. The lecture is followed with questions from the audience.