Responsibilities and Campaign Strategies of U.S. Presidents between 1800 and 1917

The USA experienced change on a grand scale between 1800 and 1917 in what Americans had in their mind regarding what the characteristics of a president should be, and with that, how presidential candidates should campaign in order to win their elections. Largely spurred by the rise of business and industry during the Gilded Age as well as political changes, presidential candidates between 1800 and 1917 were increasingly forced to heighten their campaign efforts by implementing a more aggressive speechmaking agenda combined with a heightened implementation of new technologies. Both through changes in campaign strategies and how these campaign strategies were viewed by the public, the responsibilities of a candidate changed drastically between 1800 and 1917.

As large businesses proliferated during the Gilded Age, many disgruntled industrial workers tried to use voting in order to improve their situation, thereby causing a rapid increase in the campaigns targeted at them between 1800 and 1917. In the 1880s, a majority of the voting population was very self-motivated to seek out good political candidates who could fulfil their needs. At this point in time, most workers did not have strong opinions about political candidates, resulting in a voter base largely affluent enough to be able to travel to the proximities of candidates to hear their speeches. In light of the fact that the majority of the voters at the time were self-inclined to find out about candidates, most successful presidential candidates employed a relaxed campaign strategy, in which they did not engage in the types of mass marketing which were often seen at the beginning of the 20th century. Instead, presidential candidates such as Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland often used front porch campaigns, in which they relied on small groups of voters coming to them to hear their speeches instead of the candidates proactively speaking to the public. In Indiana Republican Day: General Harrison and Mr. Blaine Together by the New-York Daily Tribune, we learn that, in a day in which Benjamin Harrison has his home open for a front porch campaign “The informal reception… began as soon as the General [Benjamin Harrison] got up from [breakfast].” The fact that there seems to be so little preparation which has gone into these campaign events, as well as the fact that Harrison takes his campaign in such a relaxed and passive fashion both show the accepted dynamics in the workings of campaigns in the late 19th century. Although the majority of the presidents who won elections embraced this passive and relaxed campaigning style in the late 19th century, some candidates did not – and they were harshly criticized for these actions. Whitelaw Reid used a much more aggressive campaign strategy than his competitor, Grover Cleveland, and his active campaigning was in stark contrast to the candidates in other elections close in time to the 1884 election, such as that of Benjamin Harrison. However, since voting at the time was largely focused on a middle- and upper-class audience, candidates who tried to use aggressive campaigning in order to win votes of working citizens, often including immigrants, were frequent termed corrupt. In addition to frequent and publicized speeches, these candidates often used bribery through money or alcohol in order to win votes of people who were in urgent need of money. In The Opening of the “Aggressive” Campaign, Joseph Ferdinand Keppler shows the harsh reality of aggressive campaigning at the time as he depicts Reid bribing an Irishman to vote for him by giving the man plentiful alcohol. At the time, the introduction of voters who could easily be bribed and influenced through speeches was a subject of constant criticism for the public, since this practice essentially undermined democracy. However, with increasing instances of laborers facing difficult conditions, many workers turned towards political candidates with hopes of paving a better future. Instead of simply taking bribes, many workers began to take initiative as they searched for the best candidate to fulfil their needs in the early 20th century. As candidates began to see this phenomenon occurring, it did not take long for a switch to aggressive campaigning across parties and their candidates. Although bribery was still used in the early 20th century, the changed goals of the industrial and farm workers caused political candidates to try to convince the new voters through refined party platforms as well as elegant speeches.

In response to increasing numbers of voters who could easily be impressed upon, political campaigns quickly became more aggressive in their speechmaking agendas as each party and candidate tried to win the election. Since many of the new voters (some of whom had previously simply been bribed for their votes) were intent on choosing a candidate who they felt could alleviate their problems, it became necessary for campaigns to include an ever-increasing number of speeches in which the party could show its agenda and rally for support amongst the public. In contrast to the relatively simple, small and infrequent speeches of presidential candidates in the 1880s, the early 20th century was marked by a high demand for inspiring speeches, as each party vied for a higher influence over the public. As Frederic L. Paxson describes in The New Nation, in 1898 (nearing the beginning of the 20th century), presidents were already approaching campaigning in an aggressive fashion, as is seen in Roosevelt’s campaign which Paxson describes as “He [Theodore Roosevelt] spoke from rear platforms day after day.” The fact that Roosevelt spoke daily to different audiences across the nation shows the major contrast between what had been accepted as the norm in the 1880s to what became accepted as the norm approaching (and during) the 20th century. In addition to frequent speeches on the part of the candidate, however, large parties spent vast sums of money on hiring inspirational speakers who could represent the presidential candidate and the party on a nationwide basis by giving speeches in location which could not be reached by the candidate because of logistical reasons. In A National Election and its Expenses, the sheer magnitude of the number of speakers used by a party in order to promote its platform becomes clear, as the article states that “the Republican national committee will have 3000 "spellbinders" [speechmakers] traveling out of the Chicago headquarters and 2500 who will report to the New York office.” Both the vast number of speeches given by the candidate and the numbers given by speakers employed by parties showcases the great amount of change which had occurred in a time span of only 20 years. Between 1880 and 1900, it had become accepted and widespread for parties to hire thousands of speakers and for candidates to give speeches at large events in order to aggressively market their campaign, both of which had been initially unacceptable and rarely seen.

Fitting with the rapid propagation of new technologies and transportation methods, political campaigns were able to suddenly open to novel and previously untapped markets in remote locations and in the West, a change which largely occurred between 1880 and 1900. As the campaigns of politicians such as Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland show, technology was not widespread within the area of politics at the time, which largely left people in the West and those in more remote locations unable to view political speeches and thereby excluding a relatively large market from their voting bases. However, as competition between candidates and parties intensified in the early 20th century, the implementation of technology in campaigns became essential in ensuring the success of a candidate. As is described in A National Election and Its Expenses by the Harrisburg Telegraph, “Some… party man… will deliver a speech before a phonographic record, from which any desired number of copies may be made… and sent far out into the rural districts, where it would be impossible for the more popular and important orators to go.” By using the phonograph, parties such as the Republicans were able to successfully reach areas and markets for their campaigns which had been previously untapped. Due to the vast size of the nation, it was impossible for speakers to give promotional speakers in each locale, but technology in the form of the phonograph was able to increase the access to these speeches across the country despite the lack of “live” speakers who could give speeches in an in-person environment. Technology, however, also helped in promoting and allowing for real speakers – inclusive of the candidate themselves – to speak directly to potential voters in locations which had previously been virtually excluded from mainstream campaign marketing. As can be seen from the photograph of Theodore Roosevelt speaking at Lake City, Minnesota during his campaign, Roosevelt and other presidential candidates in the early 20th century made use of the recent advances in transportation in order to reach distant locations and appeal to potential voters there. By speaking from the back of his railroad coach, Roosevelt could give a great number of campaign speeches throughout the West, an achievement which would have been impossible without the recent proliferation of railroad tracks, which had been a driving factor in allowing for high-speed transportation across the nation. Roosevelt used this high-speed transportation in order to give speeches across the West and thereby greatly expand his voter support by directly appealing to a demographic of voters which had previously been left relatively untapped for its potential. Both through an increase in the use of transportation technologies as well as technologies which allowed for campaign ideas to spread without physical representation of a party, technology had a great impact in the pivotal changes which occurred in campaign strategy between 1880 and 1917.

In conclusion, through the changing voter demographics between 1880 and 1900, campaign strategies became increasingly aggressive both through an increase in speechmaking activities as well as through new technologies. As industrial and farm workers throughout the nation became increasingly aware of their role in changing their lives by electing certain candidates, they became more wary of bribery and instead resorted to trying to find the best candidates. As a result of these fundamental changes in voter demographics, campaigns adapted themselves through increases in the number of speeches given, more use of technologies as well as a more aggressive campaign strategy.

Works Cited

"A National Election and Its Expenses," The Harrisburg Telegraph, September 18, 1900.

Frederic L. Paxson, "Theodore Roosevelt," in The New Nation (Cambridge, MA: The Riverside Press, 1915), Project Gutenberg e-book, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27953/27953- h/27953-h.htm#CHAPTER_XVII.

"Indiana Republican Day: General Harrison and Mr. Blaine Together," New-York Daily Tribune, October 12, 1888, Library of Congress, http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1888-10-12/ed-1/seq-2/.

Joseph Ferdinand Keppler, "The Opening of the 'Aggressive' Campaign," Puck, August 6, 1884, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.

"President Roosevelt Speaking from His Car at Lake City, Minnesota," ca. November 28, 1903, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.