National Museum of American History
The Perpetual Campaign: How Presidents Try to Persuade the People (and Vice Versa)
October 26, 1988 – August 31, 1989
Documenting the office of the president as it has evolved over the years, the exhibition celebrates the bicentennial of the first presidential inauguration on April 29, 1789. More than 400 objects and photographs from presidential campaigns are on display.
Among the highlights are:
- George Washington's waistcoat -
- a microphone used by Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- an interactive video featuring Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon
- a re-creation of a middle-class living room equipped with a television set that runs continuously with tapes of presidential speeches from Eisenhower to Reagan
- a telephone line to the Office of Presidential Inquiries and Comments at the White House that visitors are invited to use.
