Baylor exhibit offers peek at presidential history
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Election Day is just around the corner, and campaigns are now working overtime to get out the vote through television, radio and social media. But it hasn’t always been that way.
The Poage Legislative Library on the campus of Baylor University offers a look at the presidential campaigns of the past—including the ever-popular campaign button.
"Buttons as we know them today and as presented here, did not exist until 1896," Poage Legislative Library Director Ben Rogers said. "It started in 1896 with the campaign of William McKinley for President."
McKinley’s campaign is not only credited with creating the campaign button, but also the beginning of the modern presidential campaign through the use of mass marketing.
Since then, politicians have used all kinds of common objects to spread their message.
Major developments over the last century, namely television and the Internet, have changed the way that candidates communicate.
Admission to the “Race for the White House” exhibit is free. It's open during business hours until Election Day.