Comparing Presidential Candidates Past and Present
 By Philip Ernest Schoenberg, Ph.D.

Overview

In campaign 2000, we have the 43rd electoral contest to determine who will become the next president of the United States.  The more things change, the more they remain the same.  A judicious balance of style and substance, character and accomplishment, appears to be the best way to become president. Students will examine, analyze, compare and contrast the present candidates with those of the past in terms of political campaigning, communication, and image-making, as well as their lives.  While this lesson is designed for students in 11th and 12th grades, it is also appropriate for college students, and may be adapted for the lower grades.

Objectives

Students will:

  • Research historical and contemporary presidential campaigns
  • Investigate and compare the personalities of presidential candidates past and present
  • Analyze campaign techniques and issues

Time Required

Ten 45-minute class periods will be required for the students to research, analyze and synthesize the results through written reports and oral presentations followed by discussions. 

Materials

Motivation

Initiate this lesson by presenting this supposition: 

    This presidential candidate has some great ideas but his "outward package" would be considered a drawback in today's media-conscious world.  He would be considered too tall and gawky at 6 foot 4 inches.  His voice is high-pitched so that it would not be considered a man's voice today. His gestures would be considered too broad and his features would be considered too ugly for the television camera. He has difficulty speaking spontaneously before an audience.  He actually writes his own speeches, agonizing over choosing just the right language—all by himself, no less!  He has suffered a nervous breakdown.  His only previous executive experience has been managing one clerk in his law office and leading a militia company.  He likes to tell jokes that many people consider inappropriate.

Ask students the following:

  1. Would you consider this person to be a suitable candidate for president?  Why or why not?
  2. Would you choose style over substance for a presidential candidate for your political party? Why or why not?

Now reveal this president's identity: 

    Abraham Lincoln was the first presidential candidate to personally succeed in marketing his image and using the media on many levels.  He was always available for a picture opportunity—photograph, painting or sculpture.  Lincoln invited artists and sculptors to stay over at the White House or to observe him to facilitate their creative endeavors.  His wife Mary advised him how to dress and be graceful.  Lincoln's voice was ideal for large audiences in an age in which there was no artificial amplification available; 20,000 people heard him give the Gettysburg Address.  He adjusted his gestures so that they were less broad for the easterners compared to his earlier ones in the West.  Lincoln carefully limited his spontaneous and off-the-cuff remarks as president because he knew whatever he said carried great weight.  Lincoln grew a beard to make his face look better.  His humor was designed to poke gentle fun at himself so that he seemed to be "one of the people" as well as to make a point.  Lincoln suffered from a maniac-depression cycle that had culminated in a nervous breakdown; his friends had watched him in case he tried to commit suicide. However, he was able to bring this nervous condition under control by the time the Civil War broke out.  As Abraham Lincoln demonstrated at the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates, he would have done very well on television.

After revealing these facts on Abraham Lincoln, explain to students that they will be studying, examining and comparing the ideas, campaigns, accomplishments, life stories and personalities of presidential candidates past and present.

Procedures  

Pre-teach general vocabulary terms such as campaign style, campaign strategy, campaign technique, etc.  Have students examine presidential campaigns by engaging in the following activities:

Strategy I:  Conducting Internet Research

  1. Pair up students to conduct research on the Internet.  Ask them to compare and contrast the campaign styles of one of the present-day presidential candidates with one who held office in the past (e.g., George W. Bush might be compared to his father or his namesake George Washington). The American President website biographies at http://216.132.160.230/Presbios/Presbios.htm will help students with facts on the presidents.  The Web resources section is also helpful.  The Election 2000 section at http://216.132.160.230/election2000.htm offers a wealth of information on this year's race and the issues involved.
  2. Have each student compile a list of information about the campaign styles of one of the present-day presidential candidates (e.g., Ralph Nader) with a past holder of the office (e.g., Warren G. Harding).  Have the students exchange lists and discuss them with each other.
  3. Continuing to work in pairs, have students research contemporary campaigns.  Students may gain insight from the Election 2000 Essays at http://216.132.160.230/lp/essay_index.htm.  Each pairing should then use their research findings to answer the following questions in writing:
    1. How do presidential candidates present and past view themselves as campaigners?  How are their campaign styles similar? Different?
    2. Have any of them taken any political risks?
    3. Identify a political strategy that a president or presidential candidate used to achieve or keep the Oval Office.
    4. How did they become the presidential candidate of their political party?
    5. What were their most effective campaign gimmicks?
    6. How did they campaign?
    7. Which candidate from the past resembles a present-day candidate? Explain why.
    8. What could a present-day presidential campaigner learn from a past presidential campaigner?
    9. Which president would they most likely be friends with?  Why?
    10. Which candidate from the past agrees with one of the present ones on most of the issues? Disagrees with one of them on the issues?
    11. How would you like to have had a presidential candidate past or present for a parent?  For a friend?  A spouse?  Or a president?  Would the candidate's personal life be suitable for a role model?  Explain why or why not by giving personal examples.  
    12. In grades 8, 9 and 10, students can make up campaign slogans for a candidate they would like to win.  In grades 11 and 12, students can pretend that they are political campaign managers representing one of the candidates.
    13. What kind of campaign would they run? 
    14. What advice would they solicit?  Why?  Against political opponents?
    15. What would you attack them on? 

Strategy II:  Cooperative Learning Groups

  1. Organize students into cooperative learning groups.  Explain that each group will act as a presidential campaign staff and plan an appropriate campaign for a candidate.  Have them answer the following questions:
    1. How involved was each past president or present presidential candidate in forming the strategies he or she used to win political office?
    2. What is the candidate's philosophy of government?  What do you like or dislike?  Explain your answer.
    3. How does the media shape the image of the president and the presidential candidate?  Students may want to look at "An Insider's View: Life on the Campaign Trail and in the White House" by Stephen Goodin at http://216.132.160.230/lp/lp_innercircle.htm.
    4. Compare the biographical portraits of the current vice-presidential candidates to that of the presidential candidates.  Are they well matched?  Why or why not?  How do they agree or disagree on the issues?  Biographies of the current candidates at http://216.132.160.230/mag/cmp_index.htm are helpful in this activity. 

Strategy III:  Individual Student Assignments

(Advisory note: There is a lot to do.  You may need to pick and choose some of the activities listed below.  Doing all of these could push this lesson/project into the three or four week time frame.)

Assign individual students to research the stepping-stones that lead to the elevation of a past and a present presidential candidate.  Below are questions for students to answer as well as projects that you may assign.

  1. How did the presidential candidate choose to join a political party?
  2. How did they launch their political careers?
  3. What were the turning points in their lives that determined their political future?
  4. How did they overcome obstacles to become the leader of their political party?
  5. How was the president the leader of his party then?  Today?
  6. What type of images do they project?
  7. How successful are they in communicating their views?
  8. How successful are they in working with other people?
  9. Pretend that you are political campaign manager representing one of the candidates. Look at "The Campaign Commander" by Dan Sanders at http://216.132.160.230/lp/lp_commander.htm for advice in answering these questions:
    1. What kind of campaign would you run?  Explain why.
    2. What kind of tactics would work?  Explain why.
    3. Whose advice would you solicit?  Why?
    4. Why would you attack your political opponent? Why not?
    5. What information would you need in order to defeat your opponent?
  10. How do the candidates stand on the issues?  Construct a graph to show where they stand in their political position.
  11. Draw a cartoon reflecting the political position of the present presidential candidates. For advice, students can consult "Drawing Political Conclusions: An Interview with Political Cartoonists" by Dan Sanders at http://216.132.160.230/lp/lp_drawpolconc.htm.
  12. Students could be encouraged to write their own campaign songs after they read "Music to Win the White House By: Songs in Presidential Campaigns" by Dan Sanders at http://216.132.160.230/lp/lp_music.htm. The teacher can play recordings of campaign music to the class. 
  13. What is a past president's impact and legacy?
    1. How would you define presidential greatness?
    2. Is it fair to judge past presidents in terms of the modern presidency? Why or why not? 
    3. How long does it take for a legacy to form? 
    4. Write a letter comparing the potential legacy of one of the candidates to one of the previous occupants of the Oval Office. 

Assessment

Evaluate students on oral recitations and written presentations through:

  • Group discussions
  • Breadth and depth of campaign techniques presented
  • Practicality of campaign techniques advanced
  • Mastering concepts and facts

Each cooperative learning group should be given a grade based on cooperation, time on task, and completion of the project.  Use learning logs for assessment by asking students to write summaries and reflections at the end of each class period on the activities they participated in that day.  These can be collected and scored on a daily basis.

Related Lesson Plans

Additional Resources

Philip Schoenberg, Ph.D., is a veteran of the New York City public schools and secretary emeritus of the Association of Teachers of Social Studies of New York City.  He teaches government and history at Pratt Institute and the College of Aeronautics. He has his own website on the presidents, http://www.presidentialexpert.com, and as a licensed New York City tour guide, gives tours of various presidential sites in the Big Apple.  Check http://www.newyorktalksandwalks.com for a schedule of tours.