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Articles on Hubert Humphrey

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Richard Nixon, celebrating his election on Nov. 7, 1968, campaigned against a backdrop of racial inequality, civic unrest and polarized politics. AFP via Getty Images

1968’s presidential election looks a lot like today’s – but it was very different

There are similarities between the law-and-order language used by the 1968 and 2020 presidential candidates and the racial tension and political polarization both years. But much is different.
Like the other Democratic candidates for president, Elizabeth Warren has spent months canvassing Iowa to meet voters while spending little time in other states. CJ Gunther/EPA

The US presidential primaries are arcane, complex and unrepresentative. So why do Americans still vote this way?

Americans didn’t always have primaries and caucuses to choose presidential candidates. The system was meant to be more democratic, but it places too much attention on largely white, small states.
President Richard Nixon, left, and President Donald Trump, right. AP//Frank C. Curtin; REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Trump’s bad Nixon imitation may cost him the presidency

President Trump solicited foreign help for his presidential campaign. So did presidential candidate Richard Nixon. The difference, writes scholar Ken Hughes, is that Nixon was more skilled at it.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley holds a town hall in South Carolina on Aug. 28, 2023. Peter Zay/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

How did the US presidential campaign get to be so long?

While other countries set strict limits on the length of campaigns, American presidential races have become drawn-out, yearslong affairs. It wasn’t always this way.
A protester outside the Republican convention in Cleveland. REUTERS/Jim Urquhart

What anti-Trump activists can learn from Chicago ‘68

RNC protests in Cleveland have been peaceful, but are they effective? A historian explains what happened at the DNC in 1968 and why activists may want to reconsider their tactics.
Rand Paul speaks to New Hampshire voters as a banner featuring his campaign logo hangs in the background. Brian Snyder/Reuters

The branding of an American president

The use of logos is a relatively recent development in American campaigns. Now, they’re more important than ever before.
Coronations or conventions? Barack Obama and Joe Biden salute the masses at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. EPA/Matthew Cavanaugh

As the American party conventions begin, don’t write off their relevance

Delegates and media are gathering this week in Tampa, Florida, for the Republican National Convention. With the threat of Hurricane Isaac forcing a one-day delay to the start of the convention, political…

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