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Presidential Elections Through the Years
From George Washington to Barack Obama, this display presents a variety of items from the Library of Congress' collections related to US presidential elections and campaigns. The items touch upon a selection of the most notable elections as well as more unusual aspects of campaigning. In particular, these items illustrate the evolution of popular campaigning, both the creativity of how presidential candidates worked to appeal to voters and how the American public adopted, or adapted, the candidates' images and their campaign messages.
According to the provisions of the Constitution which had been ratified the previous year, electors met on February 4, 1789 in each of the state capitals to cast ballots for President of the United States. Ten states of the original 13 cast votes in the election. North Carolina and Rhode Island were ineligible to participate because they had had not yet ratified the Constitution. New York's state legislature failed to appoint its electors in time to participate. |