Melissa Banigan - Working with the Community in a Political Campaign

Published in 2020 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

29 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010

Copyright 2020 by The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc.

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer.

Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Banigan, Melissa, author.

Title: Working with the community in a political campaign / Melissa Banigan.

Description: New York: Rosen Publishing, 2020 | Series: Be the change!

: political participation in your community | Includes bibliographical

references and index. | Audience: Grade 7 to 12.

Identifiers: ISBN 9781725340909 (library bound) | ISBN 9781725340893 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Political campaignsUnited StatesJuvenile literature. | Campaign

managementUnited StatesJuvenile literature. | Political participation

United StatesJuvenile literature. | CommunitiesJuvenile literature.

Classification: LCC JK2281.B34 2020 | DDC 324.720973dc23

Manufactured in the United States of America

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE
ITS NOT JUST ABOUT THE CANDIDATE

CHAPTER TWO
HOW TO RECRUIT VOLUNTEERS FOR A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN

CHAPTER THREE
HOW TO MANAGE VOLUNTEERS

CHAPTER FOUR
COMMUNITY EVENTS

CHAPTER FIVE
THE LAWS OF A CAMPAIGN

INTRODUCTION

I n early 1860, Republican presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln was so unknown to potential voters that even he didnt think hed get elected. One evening, however, while giving a speech in Connecticut against slavery, he saw hundreds of enthusiastic young men in the audience and thought that maybe, just maybe, he had a fighting chance.

The men were part of a volunteer brigade of Republicans called the Wide Awakes. Wanting nothing more than to see a fellow Republican elected presidentparticularly one who stood against slaverythousands of Wide Awakes flocked to rallies, speeches, picnics, and other events. They even started escorting Lincoln (and other Republicans) wherever he went. According to historian Bruce Chadwick, who authored a book about Lincolns campaign, each of the passionate young men felt he belonged to a group For the Wide Awakes, the Lincoln campaign was a crusade, not just an election.

Recognizing the collective power of the volunteer brigade, Lincoln encouraged the Wide Awakes to continue their volunteer efforts. Their efforts paid offat a single event in New York, more than nineteen thousand members of the group showed up, and by Election Day there were a whopping five hundred thousand members. While this might not seem like a large number today, its important to keep in mind that in 1860, half a million people amounted to about one-sixtieth of the American population. Today, that would translate to more than five million members of the Wide Awakes!

The Wide Awakes, a volunteer brigade of young men, helped Abraham Lincoln get elected president of the United States.

One of the largest archives in American History, the Gilder Lehrman Collection, stated that the Wide Awakes are credited with helping Abraham Lincoln win the nomination for President of the United States. They did this by enthusiastically showing up, spreading the word that Lincoln was a great candidate, and making communities feel that they had a large stake in the election.

There are two big lessons to be learned from the Wide Awakes: political candidates are only as powerful as the contingents of volunteers fighting to help them win elections; and communities must be engaged with a campaign and inspired to vote.

In some ways, Lincoln had it pretty easythe Wide Awakes had not only organized independently of his campaign, but they also convinced communities in many cities to head to the voting polls. This meant that all Lincoln had to do was provide them with a little encouragement.

Most candidates, however, dont have it so easy. Usually, passionate volunteers like the Wide Awakes dont just show up on their own, ready to inspire people to vote. Campaigns need to recruit, train, and dispatch volunteers into local communities to engage with potential voters.

Above all else, political campaigns must focus on delivering results for communities. In 1860, the young men involved with the Wide Awakes envisioned a country where all people were free from the shackles of slavery. They felt strongly that Abraham Lincoln was the person to get the job done. And they were correct. In 1863, President Lincoln issued an executive order called the Emancipation Proclamation, which promised to end slavery across the United States. Two years later, after the Civil War ended, the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution forever abolished slavery in America.

Not every politician has as big a job as ending slavery, but all communities have needs. The best political campaignsand the campaigns that win electionsstrive to meet those needs.