The majority of Davis' speech, however, examined history in 20-year blocks starting with the 1780s.
"I am convinced that you can not understand American politics today unless you understand history," Davis said.
He noted that almost every 20 years there has been a destruction of old standards to make way for more modern ideals, but our modern period has not followed this pattern.
Davis said that the things we were arguing about 20 years ago are the same things we are arguing about today, including abortion and equitable distribution of wealth, and this may be detrimental to the American public.
"In the last 20 years we've been in a rough equilibrium between two great theories of how American society should be ordered," Davis said.
He also expressed frustration with the current administration's inability to pull America out of this era.
"One other way of describing this deadlock is stagnation. It's the observation that the government that you and your friends elected to office has managed to do precious little of what you care about no matter what your positions," Davis said.
Davis, who represents a district comprised of extremely wealthy areas juxtaposed with pockets of extreme poverty, drew on personal experiences of representing a challenging district. After citing the problems with the country's current era, he focused on one possible solution: the restructuring of partisan political dialogue.
He attributed some of our current political gridlock to polarized political dialogue where both sides "fundamentally reject the legitimacy of the other side." By removing this dichotomy Davis hopes that we will be able to break free from the last two decades of stagnant politics.
"I would argue that our country has consistently been stronger when we found ways to come to consensus across all types of party lines," Davis said.
In a non-partisan appeal, Davis urged Dartmouth students to push the American government to resolve old issues and move into a new era. He asked students to take advantage of their opportunity to interact with peers from different backgrounds while at an Ivy League institution. Davis also encouraged students to become more involved with the political process by lobbying congressmen and providing them with relevant information about issues young people care about.
"The way you keep getting stronger and smarter is to take advantage of this exchange of ideas with people who are not like you, and if it changes you enough you can be a part of changing this wonderful country of ours," Davis said.
Many students, including Jennifer Bandy '09, who called the lecture "part history lesson [and] part motivational speech," expressed satisfaction with his non-partisan approach.
"I thought his speech was great. Usually congressmen come and speak about the same thing," Sean Nelson '09, Davis' constituent in the 7th district of Alabama, said. "He was open to our current government but also proposed opportunities for change."
Davis' lecture was part of the Rockefeller Center's New Voices in Washington series, which brings emerging leaders in Washington to campus.
