Nixon Now

It is a shame that Nixon went down in history as the only president to ever resign office. During his first term as president, he gained widespread popularity and won his reelection by landslide. However by the second year of his second term, the Watergate Scandal had consumed most of his career and had the public in clamoring for his impeachment.

But let’s go back to the better days when Nixon had the support of the people.

Image courtesy of stylepinner.com

When Nixon ran for president in 1968, it wasn’t his first attempt. He had tried back in 1960 but lost to John F. Kennedy. For the 1968 election, Nixon used a variety of campaign slogans. With “Nixon Now” and “Nixon’s the One,” the Republican Party encouraged the public to help Nixon win the campaign this time.

Following his successful first term in office, Nixon ran for reelection with a slightly modified campaign slogan: “President Nixon – now more than ever.” This extension of the first campaign slogan subtly suggests why Nixon should be reelected. First off, Nixon is referred to as President. This establishes Nixon as a trustworthy and successful candidate. Those who did not vote for Nixon in 1968 can now look at his first term and reevaluate their opinion of him. Second, “more than ever” is tacked onto the end. This suggests that it is even more vital that Nixon wins the campaign.

These slogans were backed by previous results. With his first term, Nixon tackled the issues of the nation, both domestic and foreign. He over saw the large scale integration of schools and the lunar landing. He worked on addressing the inflation problem and environmental concerns. Internationally, Nixon worked on removing American troops from Vietnam and easing tensions with the Soviet Union. Additionally, policies for dealing with Latin America, specifically Cuba, and the Middle East were established.

But Nixon’s campaign slogans weren’t always so simple. Like many candidates that are popular with the crowds, Nixon was sometimes referred by his nickname, Dick. For the 1960 election, one slogan/campaign song proclaimed “Click with Dick.” This three word tag used rhymes to connect the voting method of pressing buttons with the candidate.

There is one, that for the blog’s sake, I won’t mention here. You can find it online when you Google image search “Nixon campaign slogans.” I wasn’t sure if it was real or not when I first saw it, but, according to an article by ABC News, it isn’t entirely fictional (mentioned under 1. Democratic Slogans). It was used exclusively by “diehard” supporters. Regardless of the content of the slogan, it still rhymes and refers to Nixon in an … affectionate way. But this slogan also works because it claims that Nixon can’t be beaten.

All the Way With LBJ!

While Lyndon B. Johnson may not be remembered as that good of a president, public opinion about him in the 1964 election was quite different.

Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Johnson was sworn into office as the 36^th president of the United States of America. When he ran for reelection, LBJ entered the campaign with experience in office already under his belt. He promised to the people that he would continue and finish what President Kennedy had started. This include an array of social reforms such as tax reform and civil rights.

Supporters used the line “All the way with LBJ!” to promote his reelection. This line hints at the desire to keep the policies of Kennedy alive. The best way to do this according to the slogan line is to keep Johnson in office.

Image source

Naturally rhyming slogans had a higher chance of getting stuck in voters’ heads and were easier to chant or cheer. “All the way with Adlai” was used by Adlai Stevenson in his 1952 and 1956 attempts at presidency. JFK also used a similar chant because "k" rhymes with "way." “All the way with…” talks about the process of getting the candidate through the primaries, nominated by the party, and eventually to the White House. LBJ was fortunate to have his initials fit the rhyme pattern and rhythm of “all the way with….”

Barry Goldwater and Johnson had a rhyme competition in the campaign slogans. Goldwater supporters claimed that “In Your Heart, You Know He’s Right.” Johnson supporters fought back with “In Your Heart You Know, He Might” and “In Your Gut, You Know He’s Nuts.” These rhyming taunts played on Goldwater’s policy of wielding more nuclear power. Johnson’s campaign focused on labelling Goldwater as a radical who could start a nuclear war. With the Kairos of the time period, this attempt to discredit Goldwater worked extremely well.

But, Johnson’s campaign is best remembered for the Daisy ad. The ominous tone of the video advertisement played on the constant fear of the Cold War and international nuclear threats. Following the disturbing images of nuclear detonations and mushroom clouds, the narrator comes back in with the line “the stakes are too high for you to stay home.”

Johnson’s campaign really made the voters go all the way with LBJ. He won reelection in a landslide victory winning 44 states versus Goldwater’s 6. The popular vote was 61.1% in Johnson’s favor.

However the attitude shown by the voters did not last through LBJ’s second term. The Vietnam War became a major issue and protests severely tarnished his reputation at the time. Nevertheless, his term as elected president saw progressive social policies that established a base for future developments.

I Like Ike

Back when I first started this blog, I did a short segment on Dwight D. Eisenhower’s. As the blog has now come to the point chronologically where Eisenhower belongs.

(Image courtesy of Wagner College)

This campaign is unique in the sense that Eisenhower did not openly declare his intent to run for president. Instead, as much as the public pressured him into running for office, he declined running in 1948 and remained withdrawn from the political world until he was nominated for the Republican candidacy in 1952.

Dwight Eisenhower was a popular figure in the post-World War II era. He was a celebrated war hero after leading the Allied forces to victory in Europe. Eisenhower then went on to lead the newly formed North Atlantic Treaty Organization in protecting the world from the perceived threat of communism.

What made Eisenhower truly special was his dedication to his country. Through his exemplary military service he showed his determined sense of duty. He believed that he could better serve this duty by remaining in a position that benefit America’s security. However by 1951 in the light of the Korean War, the American public was losing faith in the President Truman’s leadership. America seemed to have a new calling for General Eisenhower: the presidency. Nonetheless, Eisenhower continued to insist that he did not feel he had the “duty to seek a political nomination” but would “respond if called to a higher duty.”

The public had created a “Draft Eisenhower” movement in attempts to persuade the General into running for office. In January 1952, leaders of the movement had entered Eisenhower into the New Hampshire primaries, an action which Eisenhower did not reject. In February, the Draft Eisenhower movement held a rally in Madison Square Garden, a film of which was then shown to Eisenhower. Following many displays of immense support from the American public and victory in the New Hampshire primary, Eisenhower decided to retire from the military and run for president.

“I Like Ike” became the phrase that the crowds gathered around. It truly represented the atmosphere surrounding the candidate. In fact, the early days of Draft Eisenhower Movement had both Democrats and Republicans trying to persuade him to run. Eisenhower transcended the party barrier and had achieved national popularity. “I Like Ike” resonated with many of the citizens of America leading to Eisenhower’s landslide victory in 1952.

“I Like Ike” was one of the first campaign slogans to find its way to the television screen. For a minute, a cartoon parade marched to Washington D.C. cheerfully singing “I Like Ike.” The advertisement was cute and catchy and certainly conveyed the popular opinion about Eisenhower.

The Reelection Campaign

And we’re back!

Like with most politicians, one term is simply not enough. So here I am with the continuation of The Great Presidential Debate!

For those of you new to this blog, let me introduce you to the main concept and structure. I find interesting campaign slogans and discuss them in chronological order. Some election years have rather toned down campaigns while others have no true competition and as a result have no catchy slogans to discuss. Each post will provide the general context of the election and then discuss the message being conveyed by the slogan and why it is effective.

Without further ado, here is the post!

Image courtesy of The New York Times

In 1945, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was struggling with health issues and World War II. His deteriorating health resulted in his death in office. Vice President Harry Truman was left with the responsibility of piloting America out of the war. From the peace conference in Potsdam, Germany to the decision to drop bombs on Japan, Truman was heavily involved in the decisions made. He saw the formation of the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He brought about the continuation of several New Deal programs, the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan.

But despite all this, Truman was predicted to lose the election of 1948. And it wasn’t really his fault either; Truman had been ushered into office following the death of one of the nation’s most beloved and trusted leader. His term was stuck in the shadow of Roosevelt’s achievements.

However, Truman wasn’t going to go down without a fight.

                                                              

The election of 1948 featured Republican Thomas Dewey against Democrat Harry Truman. With the popular statement that Truman would lose the election, the Republicans took a low risk approach to the election trying to avoid any touchy issues that would decrease popularity. Truman, on the other hand, went all in on his campaign.

His campaign was characterized by high energy and willingness to confront issues head on. The campaign’s original slogan was “I’m just wild about Harry” taken from the song of the same name in the Broadway show Shuffle Along. The most well-known Truman slogan and the one that became widely popular with supporters was “Give ‘em hell, Harry!” The party actually did not come up with this slogan; it was shouted out by a supporter during Truman’s “whistle-stop” campaigns.

“Give ‘em hell, Harry!” captured the vibe that Truman was going for. He wanted to be known for his active involvement in solving the nation’s problems. During his campaign, he depicted himself as competing with a “do nothing” Congress. The slogan suggests that Truman would make progress no matter who stood in opposition.

And it was this attitude that won Truman the election. The Republican’s lackluster campaign and failure to address pertinent topics lost the support of the people. Truman’s energy and dedication to honesty swayed the public to accept him for a second term. In fact, his comeback in the election was so last minute that one newspaper had erroneously printed false results. This newspaper misprint led to one of Truman's most famous pictures; him holding up the paper with an ecstatic look on his face.

Image courtesy of the Chicago Tribune

The Victor

There was one thing that Franklin Delano Roosevelt did more than every other person in the United States of America: win the presidential election. FDR ran four times and was elected every time.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

But what made FDR such an appealing candidate?

Let’s begin with his first election. In 1932, the United States had sunk into the Great Depression. The incumbent president Herbert Hoover, as discussed in an earlier post, had not been able to fix the problem during his days in office. The struggling nation looked for a solution to the problem elsewhere. FDR was a promising figure in the dark days and reached out to the crowd with a catchy campaign tune. “Happy Days are Here Again” from the 1930 musical Chasing Rainbows became his motto (and eventually the unofficial song of the Democratic Party). Combined with the appeal of the “New Deal” policies, FDR was the savior that the people of America desired.

Mostly importantly, once FDR achieved office and his New Deal was set in motion, it did appear that happy days were around again. His first term did wonders for the economy and many unemployed were back at work. Prosperity was creeping back, but the people of America were certainly appreciative.

From that point onward, FDR didn’t have any official slogans for his campaigns. In his case, actions spoke louder than words. For the second campaign, the Democratic Party used “remember Hoover” as a way to discourage the public from voting for the Republicans again. This reinforced the connection between FDR and “happy days.”

The third term for FDR was not originally planned. The president originally intended on retiring due to his weakening health condition, yet told his party that if the war in Europe were to escalate dramatically, he would run. When the Nazi Blitzkrieg operations began, FDR was persuaded into running. This campaign focused in part in rejecting the claims of the opponent. The president was under fire for being the first to ever have a solid chance at obtaining a third consecutive term. His opponent Wendell Willkie had created numerous anti-third term slogans as shown in the pictures below. The Democratic Party pushed back with “Better a Third Term.”

 

(Image courtesy of Oldpoliticals.com)

The fourth campaign for FDR was particularly taxing. His health continued to weaken while World War 2 raged on. The nation was in no situation to dawdle about petty politics. There was a war going on and something had to be done about it. Roosevelt supporters gathered around the old idea of “don’t swap horses midstream” as they pushed FDR into his fourth term.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt holds the record for the most terms as president. Furthermore, he is regarded as one of the nation’s best leaders. Perhaps the most significant aspect is that FDR didn’t need fancy catchy slogans to win presidency. After leading the nation through the Great Depression and the majority of World War 2, FDR’s dedication to the people, to the common man, shows that actions truly speak louder than words.

Thank you all for reading my blog this semester. There is a very good chance that I will continue this in the spring as I have only made it to the 1940’s. Thanks!

History is Written By the Victors

I know that this week there is no post "due," but I feel like writing one anyways. This post will be briefer than most of the others (after finishing the post, it's just as long as the others) and will be talking about the opposition slogans to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1936 and 1940 presidential races. Because FDR is so well known and won both elections by landslide, these opposition candidates are rarely recognized.

Following the Great Depression and the disastrous reelection campaign for Hoover, the Republican Party sought out a new candidate to gather behind. The final choice was Alfred Landon, governor of Kansas.

By the time the campaigns began for this election, FDR had proven himself a highly functional and effective president. His efforts to help resolve the economic problems of America were working, but not all people agreed that they were the best ways to do it. As a result, the Republicans' campaign focused on two points: the New Deal was bad and "Alf" Landon was good.

The most popular and well known anti-New Deal slogan is "Let's Get Another Deck!" A play on words ("deal" as in dealer/card hand), the slogan was essentially saying, "we don't like what's going on. Let's try something else." This is deeply rooted in the concept of gambling. When a certain game is unfavorable, it is possible that there is some card trickery going on. The best way to get rid of any issues is to get a new deck of cards.

License plate bearing Landon's slogan (source)

Landon's campaign also promoted the candidate heavily. Perhaps the best known example of this is "Life, Liberty, Landon." The alliteration makes this slogan quite appealing. Additionally, it references the Declaration of Independence's "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" suggesting that Landon will bring about happiness.

Unfortunately for Landon, his efforts were in vain and he was defeated by landslide. Landon only managed to secure two states (he didn't even get his home state of Kansas).

Fast-forward four years and the Republican Party is looking for another candidate yet again. This time Wendell Willkie was chosen. Surprisingly enough, Willkie was a Democrat only a year prior. With many similar views to Roosevelt on the World War 2 situation, Willkie's campaign was centered on attacking Roosevelt. "Roosevelt for ex-president," "There is no indispensable man," and "No fourth term either" were the most popular cheers of the Republican camp. It seems by this point, the focus lay on getting FDR out of office. But, as we all know, Willkie lost this race and FDR went into his third term (and eventually a fourth). However, it is interesting to point out that Willkie, following his defeat, endorsed the actions of President Roosevelt, ultimately bringing the nation closer together in the time of war.

Who but Hoover?

You may know Hebert Hoover as the President that resided over the Great Depression (or the namesake of the Hoover Dam). He is arguably one of the most infamous of presidents for reasons that are not directly his fault.

In 1928, when Herbert Hoover started his campaign for presidency, the people of America were enjoying the prosperity of the Roaring Twenties. Hoover saw this and built his platform around spreading wealth and eradicating poverty. This was a solid stance for Hoover to take as his previous office was Secretary of Commerce and he had done his job well. The Hoover campaign had a catchy tagline of “Who but Hoover?” This tag was branded on everything of the campaign. From buttons to posters, Hoover’s face challenged people to come up with reasons why another candidate would be a better choice. Under the promise of “a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage,” Hoover attracted the public garnering 58 percent of the public vote.

1928 campaign button (image courtesy of Tidewater Community College)

This slogan and campaign promise were designed for the people. When the nation’s economy is strong, it makes sense to promise to spread the wealth to the people. While the current appreciation for chickens and cars isn’t the highest, such goods were much less readily available in the 1920’s and were signs of the middle and upper classes. Hoover’s reputation as head of the Food Administration (wartime organization in charge of rationing) and the American Relief Administration (provided food to post-war central Europe) showed that he was more than capable of providing for the needy.

However, Hoover’s bubbly optimism was popped only eight months into his presidency. The stock market crashed and plunged the United States of America into what would become known as the Great Depression. Many people pinned the blame on the unfortunate Hoover (Hoover-villes) while opposing political parties attacked the Republicans of faulty policies. Circumstances such as these made Hoover’s reelection campaign in 1932 a nightmare. He attempted to recapture the optimism of his first campaign by proclaiming that “We are turning the corner!” The past three years of attempts to bring America out of the Great Depression did not impress the American public. The desperate bid for an extension to fix the economy was ignored by the people for the words of the Democratic candidate Franklin Delano Roosevelt (“Happy days are here again”).

Hoover’s bad luck did not end with his crushing defeat in 1932. His name had become synonymous with the Depression. When FDR ran for reelection, the Republican Party ran an aggressive campaign against him. Despite all their efforts, the Republican candidate, Alfred Landon, was defeated by Roosevelt who had asked the American people to “remember Hoover.”

Hoover’s involvement in the presidential races showed that credentials make a large difference in winning elections, but any failures in administration can destroy the reputation of an entire political party.