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1. Presidential Campaigns
A constant feature of American politics, presidential campaigns have evolved greatly since the election of George Washington. The rise of political parties, the expansion of voting rights, developments in transportation, the proliferation of radio, television, and the Internet, and the recent predominance of political consultants, image-makers, and spin doctors - all this has transformed the look, sound, feel, and substance of this remarkable democratic tradition. The Founding Fathers knew nothing of the political campaigns we know today. Many warned against the rising dissension that parties reflected and helped to create. In those years it was even considered undignified for candidates to solicit votes from the people. By the 1820s, though, the emergence of factionalized political parties and the expansion of the franchise required presidential candidates to mobilize popular support for their candidacy. The campaign trail that we know today was a late nineteenth-century invention. Before then, most presidential hopefuls remained silent, or, like Benjamin Harrison, conducted "front porch campaigns" from which they made speeches and greeted visitors. William Jennings Bryan inaugurated the first "whistle stop" campaign in 1896, a type of train tour made famous by Harry Truman in his dramatic election victory of 1948. Radio and newsreels allowed candidates for the first time to reach a mass audience rapidly. From 1920 to 1950 the radio would continue to be the major political information source for most Americans. Television eclipsed radio's dominance during the presidential election of 1952, when an estimated 53 percent of the population watched programs on the campaign. Today's candidates rely increasingly on television, spending millions of dollars to communicate their message, image and personality. Presidential campaigns today are grueling marathons. Not for the faint of heart, the modern presidential campaign tests the mettle of those who would live in the White House. In many ways the office of the presidency has become part of a perpetual campaign, in which engaging the public is key to more than an election. Every four years, in a ritual of democracy admired around the world, Americans vote for the candidate who will occupy the highest office in the land.
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