The Catchy History of Presidential Campaign Slogans

“I Like Ike” badges
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In the American political arena, presidential campaign slogans have a long and varied history. When a presidential hopeful is building their platform, they and their team choose slogans for how well they set the tone for the candidate’s agenda, message, and direction for the country. A memorable phrase can concisely convey a candidate’s vision for their presidential term as well as become a rallying cry for supporters. But crafting a winning campaign slogan isn’t just about having the catchiest saying — the right slogan can play a vital role in shaping the narrative of a campaign and influencing voter perceptions about the candidate.

A good campaign slogan can offer hope, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1932 slogan (and campaign song), “Happy Days Are Here Again,” or serve as a reminder of the prosperity enjoyed under an incumbent, such as William McKinley’s 1900 slogan, “Four More Years of the Full Dinner Pail.” On the other hand, a bad slogan, such as Democratic presidential candidate Alfred E. Smith’s 1928 slogan, “Vote for Al Smith and Make Your Wet Dreams Come True,” might cost a candidate an election as well as land on a list of the worst presidential campaign slogans ever. (Smith’s slogan was a reference to his anti-Prohibition stance that made him a “wet” candidate.) Here is a brief look at the evolution of presidential campaign slogans in the United States.

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The First Campaign Slogan

The first presidential campaign slogan is often attributed to Whig Party candidate William Henry Harrison in the election of 1840. Harrison used the catchy phrase “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too,” a reference to his military victory over Shawnee Chief Tecumseh at the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe, as well as Harrison’s running mate, John Tyler. The rhyming refrain helped promote Harrison’s image as a war hero and a man of the people. It also contributed to his successful campaign against the incumbent President, Martin Van Buren, and played a significant role in shaping the way presidential candidates used slogans to support their platforms in future elections. Harrison’s campaign for President lasted longer than his presidency; he developed pneumonia and died in April 1841, one month into his term, becoming the first President to die in office.

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A Catchy Rhyme Helps Big Time

Campaign slogans need to be short and memorable, which has led to a history of using rhymes, puns, and plays on words to craft phrases that carry a strong message and are still succinct enough to fit on a button. Calvin Coolidge used a play on his name with the 1924 slogan “Keep Cool and Keep Coolidge,” while Lyndon B. Johnson’s winning campaign in 1964 created a rhyme with his initials: “All the Way With LBJ.” (Johnson was inspired by Adlai Stevenson’s catchy slogan in his 1952 failed run against Dwight D. Eisenhower, “All the Way With Adlai.”)  

Dwight D. Eisenhower’s successful 1952 campaign, meanwhile, was notable for its own simple rhyming slogan: “I Like Ike.” The slogan appeared on a wide variety of campaign materials and was featured in one of the first televised political endorsements, which included a song written by Irving Berlin and animation by Walt Disney Studios.  The catchy jingle incorporated Eisenhower’s popular catchphrase in the lyrics: “You like Ike, I like Ike, everybody likes Ike (for President) / Hang out the banner and beat the drum / We’ll take Ike to Washington.” The slogan served Eisenhower so well in his 1952 presidential bid that his successful 1956 run featured a slightly revised version: “I Still Like Ike.”

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6 Things You Didn’t Know About the Kennedys

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In American politics, there are few families who have had as big an impact on the nation’s history as the Kennedys. The family’s roots can be traced back to two Irish Catholic immigrant families, the Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys, who came to the U.S. beginning in the 1840s to escape the potato famine in Ireland. In 1914, Joseph P. Kennedy, the son of a wealthy Boston businessman, married Rose Fitzgerald, the daughter of an equally prominent Boston family. The couple went on to have nine children: Joseph Jr., John (“Jack”), Rose Marie, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert (“Bobby”), Jean, and Edward (“Ted”), many of whom served the country in a variety of elected and appointed roles, helping steer the course of the nation.

The most famous of Joseph and Rose’s children was their second-oldest child, John F. Kennedy. Before he became the 35th and youngest elected President of the United States in 1961, he served in the Navy and represented Massachusetts in both houses of Congress. The 1963 assassination of the young and charismatic President triggered a wave of profound shock and grief across the nation, marking the end of an era as postwar idealism gave way to a period of political and social turbulence.

Despite a number of other tragedies over the years, the Kennedy family’s legacy endures in their commitment to public service and social causes. Here are six little-known facts about this famous political family.

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John F. Kennedy Donated His Congressional and Presidential Salaries to Charity

The Kennedys may have started out as a middle-class family in Boston, but Joseph Kennedy’s success in banking, stock trading, movie production, and liquor sales made them very wealthy. So wealthy, in fact, that Joseph established a trust fund for each of his children. From the time John F. Kennedy was 21, he lived on the interest of his own $10 million trust, making it possible for him to donate his congressional and presidential salaries to charity. Over the course of his political career, JFK donated more than $500,000 to dozens of charitable organizations, including the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America, the United Negro College Fund, and the Foundation for Jewish Philanthropies.

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Jackie Kennedy Started a School in the White House

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy was known to be a private person who was very protective of her children. Concerned about potential security risks and the omnipresent press, Jackie decided to turn the third-floor solarium in the White House into a nursery school for her young daughter, Caroline, in 1961. The school grew to around 20 students that included Caroline’s playmates and children of White House staff, and the salaries of two New York State-certified teachers were paid by the Kennedys and other parents. Though school segregation was outlawed in 1954, the process to integrate schools was ongoing at the time, and President Kennedy was criticized for not sending his own daughter to an integrated public school. In September 1962, The New York Timesreported that Caroline’s school was being desegregated that fall with the addition of a Black student, the son of associate White House press secretary Andrew Hatcher.

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We Made JFK’s Famous Waffles, and Here’s What We Learned

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Like everything else they do while in office, the food preferences of the United States Presidents are meticulously documented. The eating habits of the commanders in chief become the object of scrutiny, and can even help shape the popularity of certain dishes. Thomas Jefferson, for instance, is credited with introducing multiple recipes to the New World, including macaroni, ice cream, and French fries. John Tyler had a popular type of pie named after him, and Ronald Reagan was famous for keeping a jar of Jelly Belly jelly beans on his desk

The 35th President, John F. Kennedy, is no exception. In fact, among the documents on his presidency preserved in the National Archives is a small recipe card featuring his family waffle recipe. Over the years, various cookbooks requested family recipes from the Kennedys, and one that was frequently shared was this waffle recipe, which JFK often requested himself from the White House chefs. 

As a lover of both history and waffles, I decided to make these waffles for myself and see if I could bring the Kennedy experience to my own kitchen. Here’s what I discovered about JFK’s famous breakfast dish. 

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A Classic Family Meets a Classic Dish

A breakfast staple dating back to ancient Greece, waffles are more than just pancakes with ridges. They were originally thin wafers eaten on special occasions, and, in another presidential twist, Thomas Jefferson was purported to have brought the first long-handled waffle iron to America. In the decades since, waffles have undergone several makeovers, from fluffy Belgian varieties to frozen Eggos. But no matter their shape or price, they are a quintessential breakfast dish. 

It's perhaps no surprise, then, that this recipe was so beloved by President Kennedy, who was a lover of the classics. According to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, JFK was fond of a smattering of traditional meals, such as New England fish chowder, corn muffins, and chocolate. However, he was also noted as being "a small eater and he often had to be reminded that it was dinner time."

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Surprising Facts About Every U.S. President

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Between 1789 and today, 45 people have served as President of the United States. During their time in office, as well as throughout their lives before and after the presidency, these leaders saw accomplishments and setbacks that shaped the nation in ways both big and small. Some of these stories have gone down in history, while others — such as George Washington’s time as a whiskey distiller, or Franklin D. Roosevelt’s pioneering foray into television — are less well known. Here are some surprising and fascinating facts about every U.S. President in history.

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George Washington Distilled Whiskey After His Presidency

In 1797, mere months after leaving office, George Washington opened a whiskey distillery on his vast Mount Vernon estate. The venture proved to be wildly successful, as the distillery produced nearly 10,000 gallons of the liquor in 1799 — far more than the average of 650 gallons produced by other Virginia-based distilleries at the time.

John Adams Was the First President to Live in the White House

When John Adams’ predecessor, George Washington, took office, the White House was just an idea. Irish American architect James Hoban was tapped to design the building, which was finally completed in 1800 during the Adams administration, allowing America’s second President to become the first White House resident.

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9 Facts About the Vice Presidents Who Succeeded to the Presidency

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In the United States presidential line of succession, it falls to the Vice President to succeed to the presidency if their predecessor is no longer able to carry out the duties of the office. This has happened nine times in the history of the country, under a wide variety of circumstances. Some Vice Presidents, such as Calvin Coolidge, succeeded to the top spot during a time of relative peace and economic prosperity. Others, such as Harry Truman, were appointed to the office in a climate of war and political turmoil. Vice Presidents only inherit the presidency under unusual circumstances, and each instance is unique. Here are nine facts about the U.S. Vice Presidents who have succeeded to the presidency.

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John Tyler Was Nicknamed “His Accidency”

John Tyler was elected Vice President in 1840 as the running mate of William Henry Harrison. Unfortunately, Harrison’s administration did not last long: The President died in 1841 just 31 days after taking office, which meant Tyler quickly found himself the nation’s commander in chief. Tyler’s presidency was marked by tension with his own Whig Party. He vetoed bills proposed by Whig leaders in Congress and began to advocate for policies that broke with the Whig Party line. As a result, the Whigs expelled President Tyler from their party, and some even called for his impeachment on the grounds that he had abused his veto power. To further disparage Tyler, his political critics saddled him with the nickname “His Accidency,” a pejorative reference to the fact that he had become President through chance, and was never elected to the office.

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Millard Fillmore Was the Last President Who Was Not a Democrat or a Republican

When Vice President Millard Fillmore ascended to the presidency in 1850, after his predecessor Zachary Taylor died following a mysterious illness, he did so as a member of the Whig Party, which was founded in 1830 to oppose the policies of then-President Andrew Jackson, a Democrat. President Fillmore proved to be the last Whig Party member to become President of the United States. The party largely disbanded a year after his administration ended in 1853, with many of its anti-slavery members branching off to form the Republican Party. In fact, Fillmore was the last U.S. President to belong to neither of the two major parties that continue to dominate American politics today. Fillmore’s successor, Franklin Pierce, was a Democrat, and every U.S. President since has been either a Democrat or a Republican.

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Funny Facts About President Abraham Lincoln

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Abraham Lincoln led the United States through the Civil War and helped bring about the abolition of slavery. But the 16th President also had a lighter side. Lincoln had a varied list of interests outside of politics — he was a farmer, carpenter, animal lover, and inventor — and was known for his keen sense of humor. Here are five funny facts you might not know about the man known as the Railsplitter, Honest Abe, and, according to many historians, the nation’s greatest President.

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Lincoln Was Known to Respond to Insults With Jokes

Abraham Lincoln stood out, visually. He was the tallest President, at 6 feet, 4 inches (at a time when the average American male was 2 inches shorter than today), and he had the largest feet of any President, at a size 14. Consequently, Lincoln’s political opponents frequently took absurd shots at his appearance. In 1860, The Houston Telegraph wrote that he had “the leanest, lankiest, most ungainly mass of legs, arms, and hatchet face ever strung upon a single frame.” The Southern Confederacy similarly published a poem stating that “his nose was as long and as ugly and big / as the snout of a half-starved Illinois pig.” Lincoln took it all with characteristic good humor and was not above the occasional self-deprecating joke. He once recounted a story in which someone called him a “self-made man,” to which he replied, “Well, all I’ve got to say is that it was a damned bad job.” And when Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas called him “two-faced” in a debate, Lincoln famously replied, “If I had another face, do you think I’d wear this one?”

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6 Facts About the Mount Rushmore Presidents

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The four prominent U.S. Presidents carved into Mount Rushmore were chosen by sculptor Gutzon Borglum to represent major milestones and ideals in American history. George Washington, the first President, was chosen as a symbol of the birth of the nation; Thomas Jefferson represents the expansion of the country through the Louisiana Purchase; Abraham Lincoln was picked for his role in preserving the union; and Theodore Roosevelt symbolizes the nation’s industrial growth. While all of these famous figures are known for their pivotal roles in the country’s history, there’s much more to each of their stories. Here are six interesting facts about the Mount Rushmore Presidents.

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George Washington Only Had a Grade School Education

America’s first President may be one of the most notable figures in the country’s history, but his legacy all started with a modest education. George Washington was born into a Virginia plantation family in 1732, and his formal schooling was limited to his preteen years. When Washington was just 11 years old, his father died, and plans for the future President to follow in his family’s footsteps and attend Appleby Grammar School in England were halted. Washington instead received private tutoring for his further, albeit limited, education, and he continued to pursue self-education throughout his life. He read books on military strategy and history, which later informed his approach to his military career, in turn laying the groundwork for his path to the presidency. He studied geometry and trigonometry on his own, both of which came in handy for his stint as a land surveyor as a teen. But even with all of his successes, Washington carried embarrassment about his lack of formal education throughout his life, often comparing himself to his peers.

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7 Little-Known Facts About America’s Founding Fathers

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Few figures in U.S. history are as well known as the Founding Fathers — a cadre of generals, writers, politicians, lawyers, and one particular dentist who fought for and founded the United States. Although many of us know the broad facts about America’s founders, and almost as many myths (George Washington never actually cut down a cherry tree, for instance), there are still many little-known stories about these famous figures. Here are seven facts about the Founding Fathers that may surprise you.

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Paul Revere Was Also a Pioneering Dentist

Paul Revere went down in history for his famous “Midnight Ride,” when, as the story goes, he warned the residents of Lexington, Massachusetts, that “the British are coming” (though he likely never said that exact phrase). But what few people know is that Revere was also a local dentist. In 1770, five years before his “Midnight Ride,” Revere placed an ad in the Boston Gazette that read, “Fix [teeth] as well as any Surgeon-Dentist who ever came from London.” What’s more, Revere was the first person in the U.S. to practice dental forensics. One of Revere’s patients was physician Joseph Warren, the Patriot who alerted Revere about the British advance the night of April 18, 1775. Warren was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill a few months later, and it took nine months — after the British evacuated Boston — for Revere to search the mass graves for his friend. As Warren’s dentist, Revere was able to successfully identify the body by noticing his own dental handiwork, the first known use of dental forensics in the new nation. 

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5 Watergate Facts You Probably Didn’t Know

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It’s nearly impossible to live in the United States without learning quite a bit about the infamous Watergate scandal. You probably know that Watergate is the name of a Washington, D.C., hotel, that a politically motivated burglary there led to the first presidential resignation in American history, and that it’s the scandal that caused the suffix “-gate” to be attached to the end of just about every controversy in politics, sports, or pop culture since. But the Watergate story has so many layers and strangely fascinating details, there is always more to uncover, even for those of us who remember the events unfolding in the early 1970s. Here are a few facts you might not know about one of the most surreal episodes in U.S. political history.

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The Slang Term “Big Enchilada” Was Popularized By Watergate

John Ehrlichman, President Richard Nixon’s chief domestic affairs adviser, popularized so many catchphrases, he could have been a pro wrestler. One of these was “the big enchilada,” which he used to refer to U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell. Ehrlichman was caught on tape expressing his hope that Mitchell, as a big name and political heavyweight, could take the blame for Watergate and get the heat off of everyone else. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary now defines “the big enchilada” as a phrase meaning “the most important issue, person, etc.” The Watergate scandal and ensuing trial also popularized the terms “cover-up,” “deep-six,” and “smoking gun,” the latter of which was used to describe the tape Nixon made that reveals he ordered the FBI to stop investigating the break-in.

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7 Curious Facts About the Roosevelts

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The Roosevelts are one of American history’s most prolific and influential political families: Leaders such as Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Eleanor Roosevelt not only redefined the eras in which they lived but also shaped the country for decades to come, in some ways changing the very political fabric of the nation. 

The family arrived in pre-independence America around 1649, when Dutch immigrant Claes Martenszen van Rosenvelt and his wife Jennetjke began life in New Amsterdam (later known as New York). Shortly after their arrival in the Americas, anglicized variations of the family surname began appearing, with their son Nicholas — born in 1658 — becoming among the first to bear the name “Roosevelt.” Nicholas also became the first Roosevelt to hold political office in the Americas, serving as an alderman in the West Ward of New York City from 1698 to 1701, and again in 1715. The political clout of the Roosevelt family ballooned from there, reaching new heights in the 20th century when both Teddy and FDR served as President, guiding the country through harrowing times. Meanwhile, FDR’s wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, broke barriers by carving out a new role for women in American society and politics, and spent her lifetime advocating for humanitarian issues. Here are seven facts about this uniquely influential family.

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