Travel

THE GOAL OF any political campaign is to promote a candidate through a series of effective messages that connect with and encourage an optimal number of voters. Over time, campaigns have accordingly developed innovative ways to give candidates a visible presence. But there are many time-honored ways to further define and establish the mission of the candidacy, communicate it to followers, and otherwise familiarize voters with a candidate. Among such strategies and tactics is the campaign stop, a personal appearance made by a candidate that requires the candidate travel from one place to another. As new modes of transportation have been invented, travel plans and patterns have changed dramatically, yet have remained a basic element of the political campaign.

While politicians have increasingly traveled beyond their home bases in efforts to shape public opinion, campaign-related travel has long depended heavily on [Page 795]status. How far a distance and where a candidate or political personality travels depends on a number of factors, including notoriety, popularity, and electabil-ity. It also is contingent on the individual's position on key issues, as well as which type of office the candidate or personality is running for or holds at the time. For example, many sources indicate that incumbent members of Congress are often re-elected, in part, because taxpayers support an unlimited number of House members' trips between Washington, D.C., and their districts. From a similar perspective, sitting presidents have the unmatched opportunity to use the symbols and importance of their office to simultaneously govern and campaign.

Air Force One can make a powerful impression during a presidential campaign. Above, President Gerald Ford (left) on a campaign trip aboardKm Force One through the deep south in 1916.

Presidential travels became a part of American conscience when, in his first three years as chief executive, George Washington officially visited each of the states in the newly-formed union. Records from 1789 and 1790 recall tours he took to the parts of New England that had ratified the constitution; in 1791, he devoted four months to traveling throughout the southern states. Of his travels was born a custom of exchange whenever he came to a community: Washington would be greeted and honored by a welcoming committee, and would reply to the public reception with patriotic messages and commendations of the community. He also designated these visits as opportunities to better connect the American people with their government, rather than events at which to promote any administration policy.

These tours are also noteworthy because Washington rode on horseback or via horse-and-carriage over poor roads that made travel unpleasant. Due to the relative hardship of travel, and despite the invention of the steamboat, Washington's successors chose to remain [Page 796]close to the nation's capital. Such was the case until the advent of the railroad in 1829. In 1833, Andrew Jackson became the first president to ride on a train, and Lincoln rode one to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 30 years later. As the system expanded, Lincoln's travels by railroad increased in frequency, especially following Civil War battles, further encouraging a consistent trend of travel and exposure.

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