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Teaching with Primary Sources at Eastern Illinois University

Packaging Presidents: Two Centuries of Campaigns and Candidates

Reaching out to the People

The methods and media have changed since early campaigns and today's campaign strategies incorporate statistical analysis and the science of influence and affect. Reaching the people and gaining their confidence is still the goal of a political campaign. However, many of the methods for influencing voters remain essentially the same. Advertising, theme songs, stump speeches, and even negative campaigning have been around since our country began.

Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words?

Study the campaign posters of Millard Fillmore in 1850 and James Buchanan in 1857. Would the figures of Justice and Liberty wearing gowns and tiaras surrounding Millard Fillmore sway a modern voter?

Probably not, certainly no more than the laurel branches surrounding James Buchanan. But notice the American flags in both of these posters. We certainly see that imagery in advertisements for candidates today.

Learning Experience

• Poster Analysis Worksheet

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Political Posters or Broadsides

What we see often remains in our memory for a long period of time. A print document is carefully planned and created. Propaganda is a tool used freely during election season. Famous images and slogans that originated on posters of past leaders are still recognized today. Some of the same techniques that were used to invoke emotion are used today in advertisements, something our students will be able to relate to easily. Posters attract our attention and may immediately appeal to some type of emotional reaction.

When we look at posters as historical documents, we must consider what the poster implies. In less than a single sentence, and on occasion with no words at all, posters are highly selective in the way that they depict the world. The way that a group, race, class or gender is portrayed in a poster can be very biased or skewed to fit the needs of the creator or to raise the desired reaction from viewers.

When reading a poster, decoding and the use of context clues can be helpful. Students must understand that although their first impression is important, they must continue to investigate the attributes of the poster to fully appreciate how the artist developed the entire finished product. Using the Poster Analysis sheet on the next page, students can deconstruct the poster to consider symbolism and messages. As a final step, student will consider all of these features to try to understand the possible motivation and goal of the creator and possible reactions of various groups that view the poster.

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Candidates Reaching Larger Audiences

The Spoken Word

Presidential candidates of the past and today use a variety of ways to communicate with Americans who will cast votes in an election and attempt to reach as many voters as possible. Throughout the years, new media formats have been introduced allowing candidates to broaden their reach and expand from local events such as speaking live outdoors to a gathered crowd to the production of recorded comments, motion pictures, print media and live broadcasts that allow millions to see and hear a candidate in real time regardless of location.

Today, a candidate's every word, action and expression is recorded and shared with the public. Showing the voter that they are both a leader and a "good person" is part of the challenge of the campaign. If we listen to an audio clip of candidate Calvin Coolidge on the subject of Law and Order it is hard to imagine this monotone voice, this "man of few words" appealing to modern voters.

The presidential election of 1920 was the final campaign only available through record albums. Radio broadcasts and commercials ushered in a new style of campaigning and reaching a much more broad audience. In the twentieth century, radio became the new political medium. In the presidential campaign of 1924, radio broadcast the political speeches of incumbent President Calvin Coolidge, the Republican candidate, and John W. Davis, the Democratic candidate.

Increases in radio use by politicians led to arguments on the issue of the freedom and responsibility of the broadcasting industry in providing coverage of political events. Criticism by political parties, Congress, and Federal Communications Commission led to legislation in the areas of equal airtime and freedom of speech.

President Teddy Roosevelt was the first U. S. president whose life was extensively recorded and preserved in the motion picture format. Although Roosevelt obtained fame before the motion picture form was perfected, he was one of the most frequently photographed subjects among public men. Films are available of Roosevelt and other national figures participating in political ceremonies, delivering campaign speeches, and attending social activities. These items made excellent newsfilm topics primarily because of the high interest factor involved and the relative ease with which the filming could be preplanned and executed. One of the most distinguished groups of films concerns Roosevelt's campaign for the presidency under the banner of the Progressive party, formed when Roosevelt left the Republican party.

The Television

In 1952, the national political conventions and the presidential campaign were televised nationwide for the first time. The public avidly followed television coverage of the campaign and rated television as the most informative of the media available to them. The televised broadcasts of the debates in the 1960 presidential campaign were a response to the public's enthusiasm for this type of coverage.

Pollsters of the Great Debates have estimated that approximately 3.4 million voters determined their choice of party solely on the basis of the debates. That milestone event thrust broadcast media into a central role in American political life. The trend continues in spite of critics' blaming the media for the "merchandising" of candidates, the rising costs of political campaigns, and using advertising agencies in the "image manipulation" of candidates.

On the Library of Congress Today in History page for October 21, 1960, we learn that American viewers were riveted to their television sets for the broadcast of the fourth and final debate between Vice President Richard M. Nixon, the Republican presidential candidate, and Senator John F. Kennedy, the Democratic candidate.

The first-ever televised presidential candidate debate was held on September 26, 1960. An estimated sixty to seventy million viewers watched the first and successive debates - known as "the Great Debates." The first, broadcast by CBS, focused on domestic issues. The 1960 debates have been compared to the famous 1858 debates in the senatorial campaign between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. However, the seven Lincoln-Douglas debates were held outdoors in the towns of several voting districts. Their debates - each lasting three hours - first one candidate spoke for one hour, then the second candidate spoke for an hour and one-half, and then the first candidate again for another half an hour, were attended by crowds ranging from 1,500 to possibly as high as 20,000 people.

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Creating Friends and Foes: the Candidate and the Issue

The following paragraphs present presidential candidates, the stance they took with issues at the time of their campaign and how those positions may have impacted election results. In addition to war, presidential candidates in American history have based their campaigns on issues like corruption, environmental conservation, and foreign policy. Though people change, issues tend to remain constant.

Win the War and Win the White House

In 1781, General Cornwallis surrendered British troops to George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary army. As Cornwallis handed over his sword, he handed Washington the status of America's number one war hero. That status easily translated into Washington's presidency at a time when Americans could celebrate the victory of their stance on issues they had been willing to die for.

Slavery, Secession and States Rights

Abraham Lincoln's careful stance on a variety of issues guided him to a meager victory in a year when the country and its political parties, were ravaged by many complicated and volatile issues.

As Swan's letter shows, the election turned on a number of issues including secession, treachery, the relationship between the federal government, states, and territories, as well as slavery and abolition. Candidates had to consider how to hold the nation together when states were divided about slavery and states' rights; questions about federal vs. state power; how to govern Western territories; and respond to extremist abolitionists like John Brown.

With four candidates in the race, Lincoln won the 1860 election. But by the time he took office in March of 1861, seven southern states had seceded from the Union and one month later the Civil War began. Lincoln's hopes for peacefully preserving the union were dashed. In 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation and promoted a Constitutional Amendment to permanently abolish slavery. These bold steps marked a shift from Lincoln's more moderate campaign position on slavery issues. They also shifted the focus of the war from preserving the union to freeing the slaves.

Remarkably, the election of 1864 was not suspended during the Civil War. Union soldiers were given absentee ballots or furloughed to vote. With mounting Union victories, the votes of soldiers and the campaign slogan, "Don't switch horses in mid-stream," Lincoln won the election.

A Fighting Man Fights Corruption

Andrew Jackson earned his first war memento as a fourteen-year-old soldier in the American Revolution. The lifelong scar on Jackson's forehead came from the sword of a British officer who had captured the teenager. Jackson's offense was refusing to shine his captor's boots.

To win the White House, Jackson's tenacity would be called back into action. In the 1824 presidential election, Jackson won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote. John Quincy Adams took office instead when fourth place finisher, Henry Clay, threw his electoral votes to Adams. In gratitude, Adams named Clay Secretary of State. And with that appointment, Jackson found the political issue that would carry him into office four years later. In 1828, Jackson returned to campaign against what he called the "corrupt bargain" between Adams and Clay. Jackson's anti-corruption platform, his emphasis on the political will of the common man, and his popularity as a war hero won him almost twice as many electoral votes as the incumbent Adams.

Foreign Policy and Peace

Issues surrounding the aftermath of World War I launched Warren Harding's presidency. The wartime boom had collapsed. Diplomats and politicians were arguing over peace treaties and the question of America's entry into the League of Nations. Overseas there were wars and revolutions; at home there were strikes, riots and a growing fear of radicals and terrorists. Disillusionment was in the air.

Harding vowed to keep America out of the League of Nations, an isolationist foreign policy stance that appealed to war-weary citizens. Harding appealed to Americans by promising "A Return to Normalcy" after the difficult and casualty-strewn war years.

Peace and foreign policy were again the issue in 1952, when Dwight Eisenhower was a candidate for president. His status as a World War II hero and his promise to end the Korean War helped carry Eisenhower into office in 1953. During his two-terms as president, Eisenhower withdrew troops from Korea as promised, and lived up to his own words.

While war weary Americans elected Eisenhower in the 50s to end international military activity, Americans of the 80s were moved by Ronald Reagan's willingness to make a strong military stand as well as his promise to pull America out of economic recession. In his 1980 campaign, Reagan espoused a hawkish position, criticizing Jimmy Carter's failure to secure the release of American hostages in Iran. Reagan won by a landslide, and used his first term in office to toughen America's foreign policy against the "evil empire" of communism.

Capitalizing on his success as a war-hero and courting the American press, Theodore Roosevelt saw his way to the Vice Presidency under President William McKinley in 1897. And it was McKinley's assassination in 1901 that ushered Roosevelt into the Presidency. Once there, however, he used the press to advance his issue agenda which emphasized regulating monopolies and protecting the environment.

Roosevelt easily secured re-election in 1904. His tenure in office was a harbinger of the important influence the American media would have on political issues and the political fortunes of future presidents.

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Sharing Issues and Perspectives with the Public

Candidates used many avenues to reach the public. In addition to broadsides and posters, records, radio and television information has been shared through music sheets and political cartoons. Although the way they are used may have changed, the purpose remains the same. The following pages feature activities involving the analysis of these primary sources.

Learning Experience

• Sheet Music Analysis Worksheet

Sheet Music and Music Sheets

Today politicians will often select a popular song to use as a theme song. These songs are selected to give voters a glimpse into the personality of the candidate, issues he or she feels strongly about and who they hope to connect with. Early elections songs were written about candidates and often reflected the feelings of the person on a particular issue that was important to voters at that time.

A song can take a group of people and move them towards a common goal or express common emotions. There are songs that become “anthems” for events and even generations which express emotions, values or experiences that help define a group’s identity. Song lyrics express lifestyles, values, and appearances. When looking at cultures and society, songs are sometimes considered representative of those who create it at that particular time and place. However, songs are typically open to more than one interpretation. One of the most interesting ways to use music sheets to consider a variety of possible perspectives and uses.

Music is an open forum for a multitude of topics and styles such as children’s, military, spirituals, celebration, loss, intimately personal, reflective of society and novelty. For each pro-war song that was written there was an anti-war song. By looking at the music of a group of people we can learn about issues they were concerned about, what they did for pleasure, their hopes, dreams and frustrations.

Music Sheets can be read from a variety of approaches. Student will often relate to lyrics and appreciate their value when they have an affinity towards a particular style of music themselves. Using the Music Sheet Analysis form, students will identify various qualities that will help them understand the music and the author’s purpose. They will also look at any artwork associated with the music sheet. All of these qualities will help them gain an understanding of individuals who either like or dislike this song.

This song sheet that uses many of the techniques we referred to above.

Learning Experience

• Cartoon Analysis Worksheet

Political Cartoons

Editorial or political cartoons divulge opinions on issues, events and people in the public eye and are present in major, local and regional papers and appeal to most readers. Artists who create editorial cartoons are in tune with society and cultural events and possess art skills such as the use of symbolism, satire, and the use of caricatures. The cartoons of the past relied much more heavily on text than modern cartoons that incorporate visual cues for recognition of individuals.

Editorial cartoons can be used to help students identify current issues or themes, analyze symbols, identify stereotypes and caricatures, think critically, recognize the use of irony and humor and understand the need for a broad knowledge base. Cartoons are excellent tools for developing higher-level thinking skills. Students can discuss, analyze and create original works that reflect their perceptions of current events and issues. Once only utilized in language arts and social studies classes, today teachers of all subject areas can use cartoons with a wide range of topics.

Cartoons offer a variety of ways to reach learners. The use of language and writing skills, drawing techniques and social situations offer multiple opportunities to reach students from different backgrounds and interests. Using the Cartoon Analysis sheet, students search for the use of each tool in editorial cartoons from the past and today. They will then form opinions about the purpose of the cartoon, the message the artist was trying to send and possible responses by readers.

Political cartoons can be found for most presidential elections from the early 1800’s through today.

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• College of Education and Professional Studies
• Eastern Illinois University
• Library of Congress

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