In honor of election day on November 5th, this week, we will be looking back at past presidential elections. I will not discuss whether certain candidates were good or bad but rather share their stories and the roles they played in American History. Each individual I chose for their unique role or notable aspect of their time in office, but each presidential candidate marks their spot in history in their own way. Join me as we learn more about these stories and dive into search tips to aid your research along the way!
Barack Obama made history, as do all presidents, but specifically because he was the first African American president. Before he was elected to the presidency, he had a political career in both the state and US Senate. In 1996, Obama was elected to his first term in the Illinois State Senate, where he was re-elected in 1998. In 2000, he ran for US Congress but lost the election. In 2004, he ran for Congress again and was elected to the US Senate to represent the state of Illinois. He then ran in the 2008 Presidential election as the Democratic Party’s candidate against John Mccain (R), winning and serving two terms in office as the 44th US President.
On November 5th, 2008, the Moultrie Observer reported his victory in huge bold letters on the front page, spelling out “OBAMA WINS.” What was more interesting to me, though, was a story a few pages later that shared the reactions of individuals following the news, detailing that many of them felt elation and disbelief. This community they were talking about in the story is home to many Americans whose families date back to slavery and the civil rights movement, making this especially memorable for them. A few notable events during his presidency include the passing of the Fair Pay Act, the passing of the Affordable Care Act, and the US military operation resulting in the death of Osama bin Laden.
Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States. He began his career as an actor and was well-known for his career in television and film. In 1967, he transitioned his career into politics and was elected Governor of California. He served as governor from 1967 to 1975, when he ran for president. He lost the 1976 election to Jimmy Carter but ran again in the 1980 election. Reagan beat incumbent Jimmy Carter in the 1980 election and served two terms in office. The Casa Grande Dispatch credited his election success to the changing political tides in America, as voters trended towards conservative candidates. He is best remembered for his unique economic policies, which became dubbed ‘Reaganomics’ and specifically emphasized trickle-down economic policies. Reagan’s presidency is also known for the War on Drugs, which aimed to get drugs like marijuana or cocaine off American streets.
Before becoming the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kennedy served in the US Naval Reserve during World War Two. Following his service, he began his political career in the House of Representatives as a congressman representing Massachusetts. He held office in the House of Representatives until 1953 when he was elected to the Senate.
Kennedy served 7 years in the Senate, only resigning once he won the presidential election in 1960. On November 9th, 1960, the Daily Republican Times in Ottawa, Illinois published the election results on the front page under the headline “KENNEDY BEATS NIXON!”. John F. Kennedy was only 43 years old when he was elected, making him the youngest person elected as US president. During his presidency, he handled many major events, including the Cuban missile crisis and the Bay of Pigs invasion. He also started the Peace Corps, which has now spread around the world. All of this took place in only 3 years, as Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, just one year short of serving a full term.
Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 32nd president of the United States, and his presidency was quite different from those before him. His political career began in the New York State Senate, where he held office from 1910 to 1913. He then served as the Assistant Secretary of the US Navy from 1913 to 1919.
While FDR had big political dreams, they were briefly put on hold when he fell ill with Polio and became paralyzed from the waist down. He did not let this prevent him from running for office again, and he was elected the governor of New York ten years later in 1929, an office he held for four years. He ran in the 1932 presidential election, which he won, and began to serve his first term. The Newark Evening News published his victory on the front page on November 9th, 1932, including a message of congratulations from his party members in New Jersey. FDR is best known for his New Deal and Second New Deal, legislation that aimed to prevent future economic disaster. What sets him apart from other presidents though is that FDR was elected to not two, not three, but four terms in office. On November 5th, 1940, the Newark Evening News published his re-election with the headline “Roosevelt wins 39 States, Smashes third term tradition”. He served from 1933 to 1945, an unprecedented length of time which led to the creation of the 22nd Amendment which limits presidents to only 2 terms in office.
The 1888 election was unique because it was one of only a handful of elections in US history where the winner of the election did not win the popular vote. Incumbent President Grover Cleveland was running against Indiana Senator Benjamin Harrison. One of the key issues in this election was tariff reform, a topic that President Clevland focused on in most of his speeches. Harrison and his party were on the stark opposite side of this issue, believing that tariffs needed to be increased to drive the American economy. These two opposite positions made the issue of tariffs a key topic among voters. The result of this election was a near tie, with Cleveland receiving just over 100,000 more votes than Harrison. However, Harrison won the Electoral College with 233 votes compared to Cleveland’s 168 electoral votes. The Robinson Constitution shared on November 14th, 1888 that Harrison had won as the “verdict of the people at the polls on Tuesday” which is an interesting comment to me considering he did not win the popular vote, so the people at the polls didn’t necessarily decide but rather the electoral college did. This was only the second election in American history where the elected candidate did not win the popular vote. It wouldn’t happen again until 2000, and once more in 2016.
My search tip this week doesn’t apply to any specific section, but rather my research on these individuals as a whole. Sometimes, if you are looking for a well-known individual, it is easier to search for just the name they would have been called than their full name. For example, instead of searching for Franklin D Roosevelt, I searched for Roosevelt in the years he was elected and got more results to choose from. By searching his last name only, it gave me results where he was only referred to using his last name and not his first. However, I had to include the year in this search, because he is not the only President Roosevelt. By combining his last name with the year, I was able to find both accurate and plentiful results that provided me with all the information I needed. I used this technique on each section this week, and it made finding relevant information easier. Join me again next week to discover more of history’s hidden gems and timeless tales!
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