The energy in the air as thousands made their way to Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester on Election Day 2016 to place “I Voted Today” stickers on Susan B. Anthony's headstone was unique, and powerful. The spectacle captured an international audience, as millions of viewers watched John Hucko's live feed of the day on Facebook. Barbara Streisand and the BBC tuned in. CNN was there.

The mood at the cemetery was like nothing I had ever experienced. It was a brisk fall morning. The brilliant blue sky was a vivid backdrop for the gray cemetery markers set in thick, deep-green grass below the branches of ancient trees dressed in vibrant gold and crimson leaves. There was a palpable sense of expectation and a pervasive joy, but there was also a hint of caution, of uncertainty.

The crowd was gentle with one another. People with walkers, toddlers on hips, men alone, women in multigenerational groups, and smiling faces and bodies of all shapes and shades waited patiently for their turn to place their sticker and take a selfie at the modest limestone marker. Some waited as long as three hours, but no one tried to rush others along. People said they were participating in a historic moment. And indeed, they were.

By 8:00 a.m. the next morning, the sky and the cemetery were gray and damp with cold fog and drizzle, and the election results were in. History had been made, but the results angered some, confused others, and left many brokenhearted. What were we to make of the 2016 election?

In this book, the editors have brought together twenty-four chapters by scholars and writers who disassemble what happened from their location and expertise so that we can assemble a response from ours.

For those who were appalled or impressed by the ways in which social media affected public mood and opinion, here is an evidencebased analysis.

For those who are perplexed about why religious fundamentalists voted in droves for a twice-divorced man who confessed to assaulting women, here's an analysis that makes sense.