Note that there are TWO topics listed below, the first with several options. Read through all the topics to select how you want to proceed. Topic 1 – The (Teddy) Roosevelt Legacy: Public Opinion, Interest Groups, and New Applications of the Public Presidency When Theodore Roosevelt, as president, faced national problems, he turned to new communication strategies to persuade the public about his policies and even his qualifications for office. But, while he may have invented the media presidency, his successors reshaped it. From Woodrow Wilson to Franklin Roosevelt, presidential administrations experimented with new practices that restyled electoral strategies while also deepening fears of media manipulation. This research activity allows students to examine ways in which Roosevelt’s successors expanded upon TR’s use of the “bully pulpit” and deployed new media technology to shape public opinion for their candidacies and policies. Students will also look at the criticism and controversy presidents faced amid rising concern about the negative influence of public relations professionals in American political life. Assignment (For Topic 1) Step 1: Examine Roosevelt’s innovations in new media technology with the moving image. http://www.loc.gov/collection/theodore-roosevelt-films/about-this-collection/ Step 2: After reviewing Roosevelt’s media productions, investigate the following different presidential applications of Roosevelt’s publicity techniques. Construct an argument to explain and present how Roosevelt’s successors built upon, expanded, or reinvented the media presidency. Do not march through each example chronologically in your paper: instead, identify two or three key themes that either replicate and build on TR’s innovations or mark significant departures from his legacy. You may look at ONE example below or a combination, depending on your argument. Option 1 (topic 1): WWI Propaganda Woodrow Wilson took the management of information to a new level during WWI with the formation of the Committee on Public Information. Option 2: “Round Coolidge Corner, 1924” Calvin Coolidge’s campaign adviser in 1924, advertising executive Bruce Barton, deployed print and video tools of persuasion to promote the president’s reelection. Believing the election hinged on Coolidge’s personality, Barton used this film to educate voters about the incumbent. https://www.loc.gov/item/97516311/ Option 3: The 1928 Election: Opportunities and Limits of Motion Pictures William Irwin, a former member of the Committee on Public Information, worked with President Herbert Hoover on his 1928 campaign. A former muckraker, Irwin wrote and produced the campaign film, Master of Emergencies. This film and correspondence between Hoover and Irwin demonstrate the emotional appeal of using new media as well as Hoover’s reluctance to do so. Citation: Irwin to Hoover, September 13, 1928, Irwin Folder, box 32, Campaign and transition files, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library. Option 4: Going Public: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Hollywood Hollywood studio executive Jack Warner, of Warner Bros., eagerly cultivated a relationship with Franklin D. Roosevelt. Firmly believing in the New York governor’s promise of a New Deal, Warner supported the Democratic candidate’s election in 1932, and then continued to volunteer his time and studio’s resources to support the New Deal agenda. In 1933, Warner produced this film in support of the president’s controversial National Industrial Recovery Act.
