Friday, 7 December 2018 at 9:30 am – Friday, 7 December 2018 at 5:30 pm

Over Here: US Presidents in Britain

Date: Friday 7th December 2018

Time: 9.45am – 5pm

Location: Geoffrey Manton Building, Manchester Metropolitan University (all panels are in either GMLT 4 or GMLT 5)

Tickets: Free - Available on Eventbrite: https://over-here-us-presidents-in-britain.eventbrite.com 

December 1918 saw the first ever visit to Britain by a serving American President: Woodrow Wilson, who led the United States throughout the First World War, made a brief tour through the country on his way to the Paris Peace Conference (which started in the new year). The trip included three key destinations: in Carlisle, to see his mother's birth-place; in London, for meetings with politicians and Royalty; and in Manchester, where he addressed a large crowd outside the Free Trade Hall. To mark the centennial of this latter event, and in order to explore the impact and legacies of subsequent Presidential visits to Britain, the Manchester Centre for Public History and Heritage is hosting a one day symposium featuring talks by several leading scholars of Anglo-American relations and of the US Presidency.

The event is organised with the kind support of the US-UK Fulbright Commission as part of their 70th anniversary celebrations. The event is open to all, and students, members of the public and Fulbright Alumni are especially welcome.

Speakers include: Professor Sylvia Ellis (University of Roehampton), Professor Michael Cullinane (University of Roehampton), Professor Clive Webb (University of Sussex), Professor Alan Dobson (Swansea University).

Full Programme

9.45-10.15: Tea and Coffee (Atrium)

10.15-10.30: Welcome (Sam Edwards and Graham Cross, ManMet): Manchester, Woodrow Wilson, and 1918

10.30-12.00: Panel 1: The ‘Visit’ and the World Wars (GMLT 4)

• Chair: Marie Molloy (ManMet)
• Sam Edwards (ManMet): 'George Washington, Honest Abe, and the Anglicization of American Presidents after the First World War'
• Michael Cullinane (Roehampton): 'The Conditions of Success: Theodore Roosevelt and the Anglo-American Relationship'
• Graham Cross (ManMet): 'The Visit that Never Was: Why did Franklin Roosevelt not come to Britain whilst American President?'

12.00-1.00pm: Lunch (Atrium)

1.00-2.30pm: Panel 2: The 'Visit' in the Cold War (GMLT 5)

• Chair: Helen Laville (ManMet)
• Steve Marsh (Swansea): ‘Anglo-American summitry: when the President comes to town’.
• Clive Webb (Sussex): 'When Harry Met George: President Truman, the King, and Post-War Anglo-American Relations'.
• Alan Dobson (Swansea): 'How Special is Special? Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President George H. Bush's Visit to London, May-June 1989'.

2.30-3.00: Tea and Coffee (Atrium)

3.00-4.30: Keynote: Professor Sylvia Ellis (Roehampton) (GMLT 5)

• 'Ceremony, Celebrity, and the Chief Executive: The Importance of Presidential Visits to the UK'.

4.30-5.30: Wine Reception (Atrium)