• Exhibit Introduction

• The Prize:
  The Power of the Presidency

• The Candidates:
  Party Conventions

• The Chase:
  Political Campaigning

• The Image:
  Marketing the Candidates

• The Choice:
  Election Day

• The Coronation:
  Inaugurating the President

• Related resources:
  
  • Election results 1900-1944
  • Election results 1948-2000
  • 1948 Election
  • Teacher Lesson Plans

• Back to the
  Truman Library Home Page

Exhibit Introduction

Every four years Americans go to the polls to elect their President. The campaign for President is steeped in tradition, combining ritual, celebration, marketing and bombast, all leading up to Election Day when citizens enter the voting booth to exercise their solemn right to choose their leaders. The President and Vice President are the only officials chosen by all the nation's voters. The stakes are high, and the election results shape the course of the nation for the next four years.

This exhibition examines Presidential elections, with a particular emphasis on elections in the last 80 years when radio and television brought these campaigns into the living rooms of homes across America. Text, photographs, graphic images, original artifacts and campaign memorabilia, as well as audio and video stations will be featured in the exhibition. In addition, a series of activity areas will invite visitors to participate in election activities such as mock voting and campaigning.

The exhibition will be organized in a series of theme areas that survey aspects of Presidential campaigns and elections over the years. The exhibition will open September 25, 2004, during the height of the year's Presidential campaign. It will run through the general election and the Inauguration. It will close just after President's Day on February 21, 2005.

 

This exhibition is partially funded by the AFL-CIO.