C.H. Henry ('25), a Communication and History double major, conducted research on the influence of presidential campaign music on the American voter. C.H. was mentored by David Eisenhower, J.D. (Annenberg School for Communication) and this project was supported by the College Alumni Society Undergraduate Research Grant.
There is something strange about flipping through letters and files which long predate your lifetime. The first time I encountered the feeling was the fall of my junior year in a near-empty archival room somewhere east of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A project researching Herbert Hoover sent me halfway across the country, and since then, I have been hooked. This time around, I wanted to up the ante by studying the campaign songs and strategies of three presidents: Kennedy, Reagan, and Clinton. The work required would be mountainous, but for my budding interest, the payoff would mean even more.
Full disclosure, hands-on research is exhausting. You turn through hundreds and possibly thousands of pages searching for just a handful of keywords, names, dollar amounts, etc. You skim more information than you will ever actually use, but steadily, as you uncover what you have been searching for, the whole story comes together. Suddenly, the bits and pieces start to align to reveal a thematic narrative or overarching story linking your research together. For me, that realization sunk in as I listened to campaign songs on my earbuds while sifting through Clinton’s 1992 strategy memos.
What this experience has helped me realize is that archival research is more than words, dates, and collections. Trapped in the text is emotion. Behind every letter I examined was a debate about what kind of campaign music could instill hope in the American voter. Across each campaign, there was deep passion for change, the country, and strong leadership. I have always loved history, but while reading actual primary sources, I remembered how genuinely human it all is. My project, of course, allowed me to draw concrete conclusions about how campaign music functions in American politics, and those connections will stick with me for every presidential cycle to come. However, it also taught me how the people you learn about truly wanted to change the world. They tried to influence our country well past their lifetimes, and only when reading their words do you realize how much of an impact they made.
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