Campaign Button, 2016 (Image from the Smithsonian Museum of American History)

The election of 2016 was a historic election for women. For the first time in our history, a woman was nominated for president on a major party ticket. Democrat Hillary Clinton faced off against Republican real-estate mogul turned reality TV star, Donald Trump.

The election was full of controversy. Questions were raised in regards to Clinton’s use of her private email for classified documents. Trump’s treatment of women was frequently addressed. And Russian involvement in the election was a constant concern. Trump offered Americans a new kind of president, using Reagan’s slogan, “Make America Great Again.” He stood against immigration, federal debt, NAFTA, and the media. He promised to bring jobs back to American cities. In the end, Clinton won the popular vote by roughly 3 million votes, but Trump won in the Electoral College. He became the 45th president, and the 5th president to lose the popular vote but win the presidency.

A record number of voters cast ballots in the 2020 election. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, more voters than ever before voted by mail-in ballot and early voting. The election was a contentious one, and continued to be so even after the results were certified. Outgoing President Trump claimed voter and election fraud, instilling doubt in the democratic process that climaxed with an insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021.

TRUMP TOWER

New York, NY

BOOKS

Davis, Kenneth C., and Pedro Martin. Don’t Know Much about the Presidents. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2014.

DeGregorio, William A., and Aaron Jaffe. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade Books, Inc., 2017.

Kane, Joseph Nathan, and Janet Podell. Facts about the Presidents: A Compilation of Biographical and Historical Information. New York: H.W. Wilson, 2009.