In the early twentieth century a prominent Michigan business man fathered the American automobile industry. This innovative engineer and machinist would revolutionize the world’s manufacturing techniques with the advent of the “moving assembly line” technique for mass production. Henry Ford’s innovations would forever change transportation and American industry. With his acquired wealth and power, Ford turned his head towards politics. In 1918 Ford became the leading candidate for a Michigan senate seat; however he was unable to achieve this goal. What caused Henry Ford to lose his senatorial bid?
Ford’s political life began in 1917 when he announced his intention to seek election as a senator for the state of Michigan. Once his campaign began, the state’s majority appeared to favor Ford. This voter popularity was gained largely after Ford revealed his life story - the son of a simple farmer; he overcame many obstacles rising to the status of a multimillionaire business person and potential Michigan senator. Many voters also admired Ford for his engineering feats, his notably low costing automobiles, and the high salaries that he paid his employees. Running as a peace candidate and not claiming affiliation to a political party, Ford placed his name on both republican and democratic primary ballots. All of the democratic candidates withdrew from the primary race, securing the nomination for Henry Ford, while Truman H. Newberry would eventually win the republican nomination.
As the election campaign began in earnest, Ford did very little campaigning himself but instead depended on powerful political figures such as President Woodrow Wilson and many Michigan newspapers to relay his political platform to the public. Ford’s populari...
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He initially ran for Congress in 1948 and remained a member of the House until becoming the Vice President in 1973. He served on the House Appropriations Committee, which decides how much money is going to be spent for what, after only his 2nd year of being a member. With this, he learned all of the ins and outs of the government: how it works and what works and what doesn’t work. Ford was also a supporter of the Marshall Plan and several other anti-communist initiatives. More importantly, he was a member of the Warren Commission as well, which investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Not to forget, he also became the House Minority leader in 1965.
...t to aid the administration in finding the best fit for the new vice president. 2 days later, on October 12, 1973, the speaker of the house Carl Albert nominated Ford for the Vice Presidency. “Nixon looked to his senior congress for advice on the nominee but the decision had already been decided, it was Ford or bust.” Speaker of the House Carl Albert in the New York Times reported to the New York Times in November that the Senate voted Ford into office with the majority vote of 92 to 3 in favor of Ford. Followed by the December 6, vote by the House of Representatives in favor of Ford, 387 to 35. Ford took the Vice Presidential oath the same day. He was vice president from president, Ford was like a breath of fresh air to the public. He wanted to share any information he could on political subjects and how the county was moving forward with foreign affairs.
Ford served 25 years in Congress, winning the role of House Minority Leader in 1965. He won because he was well-liked and ideologically flexible. This was Ford’s working position until 1973 when Richard Nixo...
New York City: The New York Times. American Book. Stratford Press, 1941. Hauser, S.K. - The. " Theodore Roosevelt, American Politician: An Assessment."
The election of 1896 was a race between William McKinley, the Republican, and William Jennings Bryan, the Democrat. McKinley was the governor of Ohio and Bryan was the an attorney from Lincoln, Nebraska. This election is seen as the start of a new era in American politics, also known as the “realignment” election. (“The Election of 1896”). This election was mostly the city against the country and their battle for dominance in American politics. In the 1800s, American presidential contests had been a vote on whether the country should be governed by agrarian or industrial interests. This election marked the end of trying to win the White House with agrarian votes and definitely shifted where the country was heading.
The Article 'The Permanent Campaign'; takes a look at the way the American political system has evolved over the years. When George Washington was president he did not campaign any before he was put in office. When he was in office he only made a few public appearances and when he did he didn't speak a word. During Washington's era political campaigning was considered undignified.
Hooker, H. M. (1958-1978). The Bullmoose Years: Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Party. Retrieved January, 5th, 2013, fromhttp://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/progressive-party-election-1912.html#ixzz2H1nDzvIs
Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress). N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.
So, when launched his campaign for the presidency at the last possible moment, (a month before primary) with the “New Nixon Campaign,” he declared the campaign style would be replaced by something more dignified and did not travel in the beginning (Thomas 155). He was also alone on election night, but he won by narrow plurality of 43.4% to Humphreys 42.7%. He immediately began to build a
From the very beginning of his time in the presidential spotlight, Theodore Roosevelt signified the Progressive goal and ambition. Often times, Roosevelt’s presidency is labeled as accidental or ironic. This irony is present in the fact that he was given the role of vice president to William McKinley simply because Roosevelt’s rising popularity and progressive ideals were seen as a threat by McKinley. The McKinley administration figured that they could silence the growing progressive voice Roosevelt embodied by giving him the menial position of vice president. So, it was seen as a shock when McKinley was suddenly assassinated, six months into his second term, and Roosevelt rose to power bringing with him new excitement and power to the Presidency (Theodore Roosevelt ). It is exactly this surge of excitement and charisma which made Roosevelt one of America’s most unforgettable presidents. His presidential career and attitude can be described by the phrase “steward of the people” which he aimed to embody throughout his term, this meant that Roosevelt made his primary goal to maintain the public good to the fullest extent of his power (Theodore Roosevelt ). Roosevelt’s character and contributions to the Progressive campaign are both equally important parts of American history and will be explored throughout this paper.
Politics and rhetoric of George Wallace influenced later conservative leaders such as Richard Nixon, Ronald Regan, Bill Clinton and George Bush. All in which modified his political toolbox, knowns as the Southern Strategy, for example creating wedge issue in polarization, accommodating the public’s emotion and most importantly using technology to their advantage in communicating to the public. Though the utilization of the silent majority, new technology, and the southern strategy were effective, they were not appropriate. I will describe the powerful tactics taken from Wallace’s toolbox and how the presidents effected the use of political campaign to their discretion.
Ford's early presidency marked a state of tumult for the nation, with downfalls including a seriously ailing economy (and an almost bankrupt New York City), an essential defeat in the Vietnam War, rocky foreign relations and an energy crisis. In addition to that, around this time, two assassination attempts, by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme and Sara Jane Moore, were made on Ford's life.
Theodore Roosevelt was well known by the people for being for the people and willing to stand shoulder to should with “anyone who had a forward-thinking vision of the future and intense convictions,” he called them Progressives (Bowles, M.D., 2011). In 1912 TR and his Progressive Party had already accepted that their chances of winning the Presidential Race were very small. "Although I expect to lose I believe that we are founding what really is a new movement, and that we may be able to give the right trend to our democracy,” (Kraig, R.A., 2000). TR’s hope was to get his message out to as many Americans as possible to lay the groundwork for the future of his political pa...
Thesis: Grover Cleveland’s first presidential campaign of 1884 became the most controversial campaign in history.
During our nation’s history, there have been many significant turning points. Each century has endured its own trials to help shape the United States of America that exist today. When analyzing the events of the 19th century specifically, there are several key events that protrude as significant points. However, a specific event can truly hold the title of the turning point of the 19th century. This event is the Election of 1860 and, as a result, the secession of the southern states. During the period leading up to the election, democrats could not unite on a single candidate to represent their party. On the republican side, Abraham Lincoln, a little known lawyer from Illinois, represented their side of the ballot with his anti-slavery views.