Packaging Presidents: Two Centuries of Campaigns and Candidates
Introduction
Political campaigns have become multimillion dollar endeavors. Early in the campaign season students are inundated with advertisements. Today, the bulk of campaign funds are spent on television and radio commercials. But what about elections held early in the history of the United States? This site will take a look at some of the broadsides, sheet music, photographs, motion pictures and audio recordings from past presidential campaigns. These items are found within the digitized collections of the Library of Congress. This booklet will closely look at the use of broadsides and posters to publicize candidates and the use of sheet music and political cartoons as means of looking at the issues candidates took a stand for or against.
Something to Consider...
Do you think today's presidential campaigns are more often characterized by desire to act on a "sense of duty" or by desire to achieve personal or political ambition?
Much of the following information is excerpted from the Library of Congress online activity "Elections: The American Way".
A variety of policies, parties and personalities inspire American citizens to support or reject candidates. This was true in past elections and continues to true today! Media coverage provides the American people with great detail about candidates' lives, both public and private. How has this influenced our regard for candidates today? Many presidents experienced turbulent candidacies.
Abraham Lincoln had songs written for him, just for being nominated. Conversely, his anti-slavery position aroused so much opposition toward the candidate.
Most candidates, past and present, have fought hard for their party's nomination. Today, many politicians make this their life's work as they move from city, to state, to national office. This has not always been the case.
Many people don't realize that our country's very first presidential candidate, George Washington, was reluctant to accept the office. "I cannot describe, the painful emotions which I felt in being called upon to determine whether I would accept or refuse the Presidency of the United States," Washington revealed in a 1789 speech. Washington had fully intended to retire to Mount Vernon when the Constitutional Convention was over. But Washington's sense of duty to his new country outweighed his desire to withdraw from public life.
Washington was not the only candidate to feel reluctant about the presidency. James K. Polk accepted the party's nomination as a duty "neither sought nor declined."
