This spring, a small cadre of Williams College students is participating in an experimental history course on the American Presidents. Instead of producing papers, as is the norm in most history classes, the students will create video campaign ads for the presidential elections from Washington to Lincoln.
There’s a catch, though. The students can only use images, quotes, documents, and music from the era. They cannot use anything that came afterwards. An image of the White House burning in 1812 would not work for the election of 1808. They cannot use images of Leutze’s famous Washington Crossing the Delaware, a product more reflective of the 1840s than the 1770s. Their assignment is to capture the spirit of the age – not the spirit of our historical memory.
RealClearHistory has agreed to partner with our class. Every week or so, RealClearHistory will display the best videos the students produce.
We began with John Adams’ 1796 election and we will continue to Abraham Lincoln’s in 1860, stopping at all the major, transformative elections along the way. This week, we examine James Madison’s reelection in 1812. Madison struggled to manage foreign affairs throughout his first term. War with Great Britain seemed increasingly probable until June 1812, when Congress made war official. In July, the United States launched an invasion of Canada. Optimists expected a quick victory would end the war and expand America’s national domain. The offensive proved disastrous. By the election of 1812, many Americans feared the worst and wanted a speedy return to peace. Madison had to run on his record, while his opponents blamed him for launching an unnecessary war that placed the nation in grave peril.
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