U.S. Presidential Slogans: According to D3P

I learned a lot while preparing this list, and researching all the past American Presidential campaigns. After spending too much time looking through archived documents and presidential biographies, I learned that official campaign slogans were not even used until William Henry Harrison and John Tyler came up with theirs in 1840. I also learned what the issues of their eras were (expansionism, reconstruction, economic decline and recovery, etc). Finally, I learned that since the dawn of American elections, they have never really changed much. A catchy slogan and a little pointed jab at their opponent has been an effective norm in American politics. You will find the actual political slogans used in each campaign since 1840 in the list below, and you will also find a D3P suggestion. Some of which have some of that 20/20 hindsight, but most of all, I think they supply a little self-deprecation. And I think we might need a little of that after over 170 of self-aggrandizing and oversimplifying politics. Enjoy!

William Henry Harrison/John Tyler:

1^st Choice: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.

2^nd Choice: Fall Over in a Kayak and some guy named John As Well.

James K. Polk/George M. Dallas:

1^st Choice: 54-40 or Fight!

2^nd Choice: We've got dibs on Oregon, and a lot of guns.

Zachary Taylor/Millard Fillmore:

1^st Choice: For President of the People

2^nd Choice: We are in favor of those who are anti-against you.

Franklin Pierce/William King:

1^st Choice: We Polked you in '44, We shall Pierce you in '52.

2^nd Choice: Voters just want to have pun.

James Buchanan/John C. Breckinridge:

1^st Choice: N/A

2^nd Choice: Slavery is for the birds. Well, them and white landowners.

Abraham Lincoln/Hannibal Hamlin:

1^st Choice: Vote yourself a farm

2^nd Choice: We plan to buy the farm, do you want in?

Ulysses S Grant/Schuyler Colfax:

1^st Choice: Vote as you shot.

2^nd Choice: A beard you can believe in.

Rutherford B. Hayes/William Wheeler:

1^st Choice: The patriots choice.

2^nd Choice: Hester Prynne got what she deserved! I'm just sayin'.

James A. Garfield/Chester Arthur:

1^st Choice: Let us have peace.

2^nd Choice: Lasagna on the rocks.

Grover Cleveland/Adlai Stevenson:

1^st Choice: Blaine, Blaine...Continental liar from the state of Maine.

2^nd Choice: Cleveland rocks!

William McKinley/Garret Hobart:

1^st Choice: Patriotism, protection, and prosperity.

2^nd Choice: America, assistance, and alliterations.

Theodore Roosevelt/Charles Fairbanks:

1^st Choice: A square deal for every man.

2^nd Choice: I'm going to shoot something, don't make it you.

William Howard Taft/James Sherman:

1^st Choice: Shall the people rule?

2^nd Choice: Obesity for the masses.

Woodrow Wilson/Thomas Marshall:

1^st Choice: He kept us out of war.

2^nd Choice: You know you've got a woody for Woodrow

Warren G. Harding/Calvin Coolidge:

1^st Choice: Cox and cocktails.

2^nd Choice: You just had a Woody for 8 Years, try Harding

Calvin Coolidge/Charles Dawes:

1^st Choice: Keep cool with Coolidge.

2^nd Choice: Shh, you won't like him if he hasn't had his nap.

Herbert Hoover/Charles Curtis:

1^st Choice: A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.

2^nd Choice: I really hope we don't all end up living in cardboard boxes.

Franklin D. Roosevelt/John Nance Garner:

1^st Choice: Kick out depression with a Democratic vote.

2^nd Choice: My legs don't work, but I'll make sure you do.

Harry S. Truman/Alben Barkley:

1^st Choice: I'm just wild about Harry.

2^nd Choice: Harry is the BOMB!

Dwight D. Eisenhower/Richard Nixon:

1^st Choice: I like Ike!

2^nd Choice: I need a cigarette and a shower, because I love Eisenhower.

John F. Kennedy/Lyndon Baines Johnson:

1^st Choice: Let's get America moving again.

2^nd Choice: Back and to the Left of Conservatism.

Lyndon Baines Johnson/Hubert Humphrey:

1^st Choice: All the way with LBJ.

2^nd Choice: Vote for me, and you'll be fellated.

Richard Nixon/Spiro Agnew:

1^st Choice: Nixon's the One!

2^nd Choice: This administration may be recorded for quality assurance purposes

Gerald Ford/Nelson Rockefeller:

1^st Choice: He's making us proud again.

2^nd Choice: I'm seriously not a crook, I promise.

Jimmy Carter/Walter Mondale:

1^st Choice: Not just peanuts.

2^nd Choice: All I want for this country is my two front teeth.

Ronald Reagan/George Bush:

1^st Choice: It's morning again in America.

2^nd Choice: All in all it's another sledgehammer on that wall.

George Bush/Dan Quayle:

1^st Choice: Read my lips: no new taxes.

2^nd Choice: You say tomato, we misspell potatoe

Bill Clinton/Al Gore:

1^st Choice: Putting people first.

2^nd Choice: Putting people first... especially her.

George W. Bush/Dick Cheney:

1^st Choice: Leave no child behind.

2^nd Choice: These are the Droids you're looking for.

Barack Obama/Joe Biden:

1^st Choice: Change we can believe in.

2^nd Choice: Ebony and Irony

I hope you enjoyed your little trip through history with my twist of humor. Most of all, I hope you stopped at least once or twice to Google a reference or two. If you have a different suggestion, and want to see it proudly displayed above, post it in the comments below.

If you really enjoyed this list and want to learn more. Please feel free to read a book that has provided me with a lot of knowledge and fodder for this list. It is called “Secret Lives of U.S. Presidents” by Cormac O'Brien (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000HT21EM/). 

 You can also learn more at http://www.presidentsusa.net and http://www.4president.org/.