Republican Congressional Committee, 1864

A presidential candidate doesn’t run a campaign on his or her own. The political party to which he or she belongs is a critical part of the campaigning process. The methods that political parties have used to help a candidate reach voters have changed over time.

This internal memo was drafted in 1864 by the Union Republican Congressional Committee, a subgroup of the Republican Party. The committee issued strategies to counter Lincoln’s critics, focus attention on Democratic Party failures, and promote positive stories of President Lincoln and his administration.

Source Analysis

• Examine the document. Identify any words or phrases that stand out.
• Who created the document? Why does that matter?
• Notice the closing paragraph. Why is it significant that the campaign documents will be printed in English and German?
• What additional information is communicated in the last paragraph and why is it significant? Consider what is happening at the time of the publication.
• What can you learn from this source about the role that political parties have played in communicating information to voters?

Campaign contributions, 1908

The role of money in elections has long been an issue in American politics. Beginning in the early twentieth century, President Theodore Roosevelt saw a need for reform. He advocated for a law to ban corporate contributions for political purposes. Between 1907 and 1966, the U.S. Congress passed several acts aimed at regulating money and elections. The Federal Election Campaign Act (1972) and amendments to it in 1974 led to the creation of an independent agency to administer and enforce campaign finance laws.

This political cartoon from 1908 shows Murray Vandiver, Treasurer of Maryland from 1900 – 1916 and a leader in the state’s Democratic Party. In the 1908 presidential election, Maryland was a state that Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan hoped to win. That year, the state of Maryland passed legislation requiring candidates to disclose who gave money to their campaign. An announcement from the Maryland Democratic Party, published in a local newspaper, names Mr. Vandiver as a collector of campaign contributions.

Source Analysis

• Describe what you see in the political cartoon. What details stand out? What does the text say?
• What issue do you think this cartoon is about? Why?
• What do you think the cartoonist’s opinion of the issue is? What methods does the cartoonist use to try and persuade readers?
• Read the announcement, “Democratic Campaign Contributions.” How is the content of the article related to the political cartoon?
• If a cartoon on a similar topic was created today, how would it be different? What might stay the same?

Campaign speech, 1920

Presidential candidates weren’t the only ones to speak on their behalf. Candidates, their political parties, and their campaign organizers might ask someone else to speak because of their appeal to a particular demographic, or a particular group of people. In this sense, a strong speaker could take a core message or theme and deliver it in a way that resonated with a specific audience.

Corrine Roosevelt Robinson was the younger sister of former president Theodore Roosevelt. She was known in her own right as a poet, writer, and public speaker. In this recording, she delivered a speech supporting Republican Warren Harding for President in 1920. America had just come out of World War I, and the 1920 presidential election brought up questions about America’s role on the global stage.

Source Analysis

• Listen to the speech and consider what you hear. What do you notice first? What words or phrases stand out most?
• What, if any, rhetorical devices do you hear?
• Who do you think would be interested in hearing this speech? Note the date of the speech and think about what was happening at the time.
• How does the speaker use the memory of her brother, Theodore Roosevelt, in the speech?
• Why might the Republican Party want Roosevelt’s sister to campaign for the Warren Harding?
• Do you find this speech persuasive in reaching potential voters? Why or why not?

Campaign offices, 1952

A candidate’s campaign office and the candidate’s political party are two different organizations, but they often work together to promote a candidate.

Typically, a political candidate has a central campaign office that gives direction to regional offices. Campaigns rely on paid staff as well as volunteers to communicate the candidate’s message, reach voters, and try to persuade as many people as they can to vote for their candidate. In this article from the 1952 presidential election, the reporter details some of the activities of each major candidate’s campaign offices.

Source Analysis

• Examine the photographs, headlines, and how the text is arranged on the page. What words, phrases, or details stand out?
• What seems to be some of the central points about campaign activity made by the article?
• Closely read the image captions. How do the captions impact how you understand what is happening in the image?
• The article mentions several different organizations associated with the Republican Party. What challenges or opportunities might come with having multiple groups campaigning for a candidate? Why?

Campaign wife, 1960

A candidate’s family is often in the spotlight during the presidential campaign. Spouses in particular are sometimes expected to join the campaign trail, and some serve as representatives by giving speeches and making special appearances. Who the spouse might speak with, and the substance of their talk, has changed over time.

During the 1960 presidential campaign, Jackie Kennedy, the spouse of candidate John F. Kennedy, was a source of fascination for many voters. She did not, however assume a physically active role in campaigning. At the time, doctors recommended that she not travel on the campaign trail because she was pregnant. Instead, she found other ways to reach voters. Her weekly newspaper column, “Campaign Wife,” ran throughout the months leading up to election day in November.

Source Analysis

• Describe what you see, what do you notice first? What details in the photographs stand out?
• Spend some time examining and then reflecting on the language used in the article (word choices, phrases, tone). What stands out and why? Do certain phrases or sections seem strange or unfamiliar?
• Why do you think this article was written?
• Who do you think is the audience for this article and why?
• If written today, how would this article likely be different? What might be the same?

Forming Conclusions: Political Parties and Campaign Organizations

Think about the sources you examined in this section.

• What patterns did you notice about the roles of political parties and campaign organizations?
• How did the sources you study support or challenge what you already understood about political parties and campaign organizations?
• Based on the sources you reviewed, what conclusions can you make about the role of political parties and campaign organizations in reaching voters? What additional information do you still want to know?