DJ Taylor

Max Heninger

Bryn Dunbar

My campaign ad supporting the candidacy of Lewis Cass for president in the Election of 1848 opens with a quote from the Democratic Platform on Slavery in 1848. The quote reads: “That all efforts of the abolitionists or others made to induce Congress to interfere with questions of slavery, or to take incipient steps in relation thereto are calculated to lead to the most alarming and dangerous consequences.”[1] Continue reading →

Rosalia Pembroke

While researching this video, I realized there were two ways to criticize Cass; I could make him the ridiculous Senator or General Gas figure, or I could portray him as a dangerous threat to Northern interests.  Continue reading →

Fanny Mlawer

I chose to set the video to an anthem of the abolition movement from 1844, “Get Off the Track!” by Jesse Hutchinson, Jr[1]. The lyrics that are heard in the excerpt included in my video are as follows: Continue reading →

DJ Taylor

Paige Whidbee

In 1844, the disastrous first term of President John Tyler was coming to an end. In the course of his time in office, he managed not only to garner complete disdain from the opposing Democrat Party, but he ended up alienating the vast majority of his own party as well. Continue reading →

Robyn Shapiro

James K. Polk is often considered to be the first “dark horse” candidate in Presidential elections. The Democrats, as a party rule, required that the nominated candidate receive a two-thirds majority at the convention. Continue reading →

Paul Steinig

To begin the video, I showed a map of the United States and its bordering areas in 1844. At the heart of the 1844 election were differing views on whether the country should annex Texas and Oregon into the United States. Continue reading →

Chris Riegg

The 1840 United States presidential race featured the debut of the modern campaign. General William Henry Harrison’s Whig machine capitalized on emerging mass media, engaged in deliberate image-building, and used songs and alcohol to woo an impressionable electorate that was deeply disillusioned with the past four years of Democratic rule. Continue reading →