This post is part of a series that looks at different sections of the newly updated classroom resource on presidential elections and voting. A recent post highlighted the section about the nominating process. Today’s post spotlights the portion related to general election campaigns.
How have candidates, parties, and organizations tried to reach voters? The relationship between voters and candidates has changed over time; the tools available to a candidate, the ways in which organizations and supporters get involved, and the voters themselves have all influenced candidates’ strategies.
With historical grounding, students can make connections and comparisons to what they notice about campaign operations of the past to campaigns today. Students may see parallels, note major differences and discover enduring issues.
Four big ideas are examined in this resource about General Election Campaigns: where candidates go and why, what tools they’ve used, how political parties and campaigns play a part, and what ways individuals and organizations have contributed. Each section can stand alone or be used together to engage students with the overarching question, “How have candidates, parties, and organizations tried to reach voters?” Depending on time constraints, student interest, and curricular ties, we encourage teachers to select the sections or individual sources that work best.
- Teachers could use one section and consider the role of the media. For example, in the Where and Why section, students will see different ways that the media covered candidates engaging with voters. Teachers might prompt students to identify how the media changed over time and what impact that had on where candidates went to reach voters and why. Teachers could also ask students to consider the media landscape today and how that affects the reach of a candidate’s message.
- This resource asks how candidates reach voters. Teachers might want to flip the orientation and examine the perspective of a voter. What responsibilities do voters have when hearing a candidate’s message? Teachers could take this lens to examine any of the sections. For example, in the New Tools section, students can consider how different tools like advertising, theme songs, and negative messaging have been used by candidates to influence public opinion. If such tools are used to reach and persuade voters, what is the job of a voter when making sense of a message? Although some of the tools used in the past may feel antiquated to students today, they might find that the motivations behind using the tool are still relevant.
What’s covered in this resource is certainly not exhaustive: A vast number of factors are and have been involved in presidential campaigns. We encourage teachers to use their expertise when selecting sections or individual sources to use with students. We’d love to learn from you what sparked particular interest or curiosity. Please share in the comments!
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