The Whigs started holding political conventions in the 1830s − and historians from the Smithsonian who visited the GOP and Democratic conventions this year found the tradition is still very vibrant.
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The items people wear, buy and wave at the convention are key pieces of American history.
Clothing and makeup are silent, powerful ways for candidates to tell the American public who they are – and how they’ll lead.
The Democratic nominee used her speech to tell her story and distinguish herself from Donald Trump - but it also hinted at issues that may yet cause the Democrats trouble.
Democratic vice-presidential hopeful Tim Walz believes that neighbours should help each other out.
The Democrats looked like they were heading for a big fail at the November presidential election, but momentum appears to be going their way.
Sexism played a key role in Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s defeat − and Donald Trump’s victory − in 2016. Has America become more accepting of a woman leader? Not exactly.
There are five key storylines that are likely to influence voters at the upcoming presidential election in November.
A relatively unknown political figure, Walz will now be defined by both the Harris and Trump campaigns in starkly different lights.
The vice president’s pick of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate shows she is less interesting in grabbing votes in the swing states than shoring up the Democrats’ base.
While many voters embrace Kamala Harris’ candidacy and the fact that she is a multiracial woman without any biological children, some Republicans are using her identity as fodder for attacks.
While a Harris presidency wouldn’t differ hugely from Biden’s, the two Democrats do have notable differences on the Gaza war and free trade.
Between her ‘coconut context’ and embracing a ‘brat summer’, Harris is certainly leaning into young people’s discourse surrounding the election. In many ways, her quirks have become her strengths.
Republican and Democrat voters agree on the importance of some fundamental values such as freedom and helpfulness.
The last time a one-term president withdrew from the race was 1968 – but the comparisons don’t stop there.
Had Biden not retreated, and had he been defeated by Trump, he would have been excoriated for being self-centred, hubristic and arrogant. His decision to step aside allows for a different ending.
If the Democrats move forward with Kamala Harris, it could be the circuit breaker the party needed. It will also likely lead to misogynistic and racist vitriol.
Reactions like disgust are part of the behavioral immune system that helps you avoid disease. Usually conservatives are more fearful of contamination – but something unusual happened during COVID-19.
Analysis of the rhetoric coming out of the Trump and Biden campaigns shows high levels or toxicity, particularly from the Republican.
Curators from the Smithsonian will be at the GOP convention collecting items from buttons to banners. Their goal: to add objects to the museum’s collection that will ‘make sense of our moment.’
Top contributors
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Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne
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Associate Professor of Political Science, Boise State University
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Non-resident Senior Fellow, United States Study Centre, University of Sydney
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W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy, Vanderbilt University
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Adjunct Senior Fellow, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University
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Director of Research, US Studies Centre, University of Sydney
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William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College
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Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Dayton
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Lecturer in International Studies and Politics, Ulster University; Queen's University Belfast
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Political History Curator, Smithsonian Institution
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Provost Professor of Political Science, UMass Amherst
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Professor in U.S. Politics and U.S. Foreign Relations, United States Studies Centre,, University of Sydney
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Professor of Political Science, Hartwick College
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Associate Professor and Director of the Centre on US Politics, UCL
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Professor of Political Science, North Carolina State University