Presidential Communication Timeline by Naomi Fecadu 60

1789: Washington

40005060 — 2024-11-05 05:00:32 UTC

George Washington communicated through word-of-mouth and newspapers to get to the people. For example, Washington’s first State of the Union would be published in newspapers, so the message was relayed to the American people and Congress. He was the first president.

1861: Lincoln

40005060 — 2024-11-05 05:02:33 UTC

Lincoln used his debates to connect with the people. As they were published in newspapers, it was a direct communication channel to sway individuals' opinions. Additionally, Lincoln communicated with a telegraph throughout the Civil War to send messages to commanders during battles. Compared to Washington, Washington couldn’t rely on the telegraph as an additional source since it wasn’t created then. The telegraph was seen as an advancement since it could send messages just from a wire.

1897: McKinley

40005060 — 2024-11-05 05:03:55 UTC

McKindley communicated to the people through Campaign Commercials. He was the first to capitalize on it, and his inauguration was the first ever to be filmed. Compared to Lincoln, Mckinely advanced using film rather than depending on the newspaper or Telegraph as a primary direct channel since it was created just before his presidency!

1901: Roosevelt

40005060 — 2024-11-05 05:05:12 UTC

Roosevelt won the hearts of the people through his words. Being known for having catchy slogans and phrases, so many newspapers and political cartoonists capitalized on Roosevelt. Compared to Mckinley, rather than depending on commercials and showing his face on a screen, Roosevelt tapped into his humor.

1933: FDR

40005060 — 2024-11-05 05:06:05 UTC

Although not being the first president to use live radio addresses, FDR’s charisma easily lured Americans in. FDR was able to effectively project his messages/speeches to all Americans individually. Compared to Roosevelt, both men primarily used traits from their personalities to sway the people. In contrast, FDR relied on the radio rather than newspapers.

1961: JFK

40005060 — 2024-11-05 05:06:53 UTC

JFK communicated to the people by having his presidential debate with Nixon broadcast live on national television. The TV also gave JFK an advantage when his looks weren’t comparable to his opponent. JFK used his physical features, charisma, and speaking ability to grasp the people’s attention. Compared to FDR, live television wasn’t created then and looks were never taken into consideration being that radios just transmit programs/news.

1993: Clinton

40005060 — 2024-11-05 05:08:28 UTC

Clinton communicated with the people through email. Clinton was the first president to have a designated email address for his role as POTUS. Compared to JFK, rather than depending on traditional media like TV and Radio to support their campaign, Clinton used New Media channels like e-marketing which geared toward digital channels.

2009: Obama

40005060 — 2024-11-05 05:09:57 UTC

Obama had the first POTUS Twitter account in 2009 when it was created by the White House. Twitter is an outlet that can allow a message to be spread to millions within seconds. Compared to Clinton, Twitter has evolved to be an outlet that can reach way more individuals when compared to the use of e-mail.

2017: Trump

40005060 — 2024-11-05 05:11:13 UTC

Trump also supported the use of Twitter to get his message out to people, but he had control/composed all his messages himself. . Trump has been well-known to be active on Twitter and even got his account suspended following the U.S. Capitol Riot due to his comments. When compared to Obama, Obama didn’t compose or send any tweets himself and didn’t have his own Twitter account until 2015, which was during his second presidency.