Special Series

Mission (almost) accomplished: Trump, Hillary, and parties in transformation

The campaign for the November elections can officially begin, at least for the Republican Party. On 26 May, the Associated Press announced that Donald Trump has won the Republican nomination. Trump passed the threshold of 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination of the party with the support of delegates elected to the convention but not linked to a candidate, which would have decided to support the only candidate left in the running. Nevertheless, the establishment is still not confident with Trump, with prominent figures such as the Bush and the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan still not publicly endorsing the now certain nominee.

Kentucky: Between Populism and Creationism

On 17 May the state of Oregon voted for both parties and gave, on the Republican side, an expected victory to Donald Trump, and a less predictable Bernie Sanders victory on the Democratic side. Sanders beat Clinton by 12 points and won 34 delegates out of 73. On the same day the Democratic party also voted in Kentucky (Republicans had voted on 5 March), where Clinton gained 0.5% more votes than Sanders, but both received approximately the same number of delegates.

The Campaign of Miracles?

The week was undoubtedly marked by events of the Republican party. Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump were both victorious in Indiana, with 53% of the votes for each. Most of the attention of the columnists and commentators however, was directed to the GOP due to Ted Cruz and John Kasich announcing that they were pulling out of the race.

There’s No Place like Home: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump Conquered New York

19 April marked one of the most important events of the 2016 primary elections: the vote in New York State. The results did not dispute the previous day’s polls: Republican Donald Trump won by getting 60.5% of the votes (89 delegates), John Kasich received 25% of the votes (3 delegates), Ted Cruz, 14.5% and no delegates. For the Democrats, Hillary Clinton got 57.9% (139 delegates) and Bernie Sanders 42.1% (106 delegates).

Go West: Bernie Sanders over-wins, but Trump is in the spotlight

The tragic events in Brussels on March 22 heavily influenced the public and political debate of the primaries, helping to soften much of the harsh criticisms and personal defamation which marked the previous few weeks. A truly intensive voting calendar characterized last week’s voting results: Arizona chose Hillary Clinton with 57.6% over Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump with 41% on March 22, reaffirming the latter’s usual gap over Cruz, who got 24.9%. It has to be said that the most significant electoral results got less attention than expected: Cruz won big in Utah disappointing Donald Trump, while Bernie Sanders got a striking double victory in Idaho as well, almost reaching 80% of the votes.

“The show will go on”: the successes of Trump and Sanders push back the end of the primary elections

“Trump-phobia” looks like the skepticism that preceded the election of Ronald Reagan, once in office one of the most popular Presidents in the history of the country. However, the violence of the weekend cast doubts on the real capacity of Trump to reunify the country behind him if he will be elected as President in November.

Curating LGBT History Month: Lessons Learned

February 2016 featured the most successful LGBT History month event series the University of Nottingham has ever seen. Hannah Rose Murray, programme organiser, reflects on the challenges she faced when curating the series and what systems of support she needed in place when she began. The post concludes with a series of event reviews from postgraduates in the Department of American and Canadian Studies at the University of Nottingham.

Results and Fallout from Super Tuesday and Super Saturday

U.S. Studies Online and the Centro Interuniversitario di Storia e Politica Euro-Americana (CISPEA) postgraduate group (www.ceraunavoltalamerica.it) are pleased to present a recurring summary of the key developments in the lead up to the US Presidential Election 2016. This post brings together leading media analysis reflecting on the continuing rise of Donald Trump and Republican disunity, Hillary Clinton’s success and Bernie Sanders’s determined fightback, and the results and fallout of both Super Tuesday and Super Saturday.

What is, and how to do, LGBT History?

In this post, Dr Mark Walmsley, independent scholar and a member of the Academic Advisory Panel to Schools OUT UK, discusses the shift in attitudes towards engaging with LGBTQ issues within HE at a research, teaching, and ‘impact’ level. Mark argues that “in an age of ‘impact agendas’ and ‘public engagement initiatives’, Universities should not be ignoring a sizeable community that is often crying out for academic support and interest… It is time that LGBT history is not something we contribute to in February, but something that we actively take into account throughout the academic year.”

Silence = Death: Podcasting the history of the AIDS Crisis

By Malcolm Craig and Mark McLay, creators of the American History Too! podcast

As two white, straight, middle-class Scottish, male historians, do we have the right to explore such subjects? We would say yes. It’s the job of the historian to look at the evidence, illuminate dark corners, and try to make people aware about what really happened.

We felt that in order to do the subject of the 1980s AIDS crisis justice, we had to avoid repeating many of the myths and falsehoods that abound about the virus and the period. It was important not only examine the historiography of the subject, but crucially to look at the personal testimonies from those who contracted AIDS, those who tried to track its origins, and those who turned a blind eye when they should have extended a hand of friendship.