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100 years ago, the first commercial radio broadcast announced the results of the 1920 election – politics would never be the same
Radio transformed American politics
For centuries, people had read politicians' words. On Nov. 2, 1920, the first broadcast from a licensed radio station was broadcasting the results of that year's presidential election.
Radio made it possible to listen to politicians in real-time. It meant that personalities started to matter more; the way their voices sounded made a difference. Their ability to engage and entertain became crucial components.
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Key Ideas
1800: Jefferson and Adams
The outcome was so bizarre, the United States had to amend the Constitution.
- The election of 1800 saw Thomas Jefferson tie with his Democratic-Republican "running mate" Aaron Burr. Both...
1824: 'Corrupt bargain'
- Andrew Jackson won the popular vote by less than 39,000 ballots and took 99 Electoral College votes. John Quincy Adams secured 84, William Crawford won 41, and Henry Clay had 37.
- Clay, with the least votes, got the boot, and his supporters shifted their support to Adams, who would go on to win the majority of the House vote.
After his inauguration, Adams selected Clay as his secretary of state. Jackson accused Adams and Clay of a "corrupt bargain."
1860: Nation divided
The 1860 election was notable because it ripped the long-dominant Party (and nation) in half.
- The Democrats were unable at their 1860 convention to establish an official party line on slavery.
- At a second convention that year, the Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas, but many Southerners in the party selected Breckinridge as their man. Both would claim to be the official Democratic candidate.
- Lincoln snared 40% of the popular vote but took most of the North in the Electoral College.
- Douglas was second in the popular vote but took only Missouri.
- Breckenridge took most of the South.
- Bell's middle of the road policies earned him the middle of the road.
In 1861, delegates from South Carolina, and six of the Southern states formed the Confederate States of America and selected Jefferson Davis as their president.
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The first televised debate
The first televised debate from 1960 between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon helped Kennedy become more popular, only because of his good looks, while Nixon, just recovered from a recent hospital...
The influence of TV on politics
Ever since the first televised debate between Kennedy and Nixon, back in 1960, television has been playing an essential role in influencing people's political choices. After sixteen years of break, starting with 1976, televised debates have become standard practice in politics.
What is maybe the most interesting about how television influenced politics is the fact that individuals, as well as parties, are now taking into account additional factors when judging the candidates, such as looks and the ability to debate.
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Debates have a major impact
There’s a reason why we place such importance on debates: They show us things about candidates that other venues do not, but they may also overwhelm everything else we know about the candidate.
1960 — Kennedy v. Nixon
The first televised presidential debate in U.S. history may be the most consequential.
Political mythology holds that Americans who listened to the debate on the radio thought Nixon was better, while those who watched it on television thought Kennedy was better.
1976 — Carter v. Ford
A moment that may have impacted the final result was when Ford stumbled over a question during their second debate regarding Poland, which he insisted was not under "Soviet domination." It was, and Ford had to retract his statement, contributing to the view that he was in over his head.