Can you picture George Washington tweeting out official White House communication?
Over the years, the way presidents communicate with the citizens of the United States has changed drastically. That change goes hand-in-hand with the technological advancements that have been made throughout history.
According to the White House’s official site, former President George Washington wrote to James Madison, “As the first of everything, in our situation will serve to establish a Precedent, it is devoutly wished on my part, that these precedents may be fixed on true principles.”
Washington took his oath of office in 1789, at Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York. Washington’s way of communication was through handwritten letters, which several other presidents used to communicate with the nation during a time period that did not have a more developed way to communicate amongst each other.
Seventy-four years after Washington was sworn into office, former President Abraham Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address in 1863 to a small audience in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. His speech was then printed in newspapers throughout the states allowing citizens across the nation to read what Lincoln said. While not the fastest form of communicating what Lincoln had said in Pennsylvania, the message was able to reach a wider audience within the states.
As technology developed, presidents used it to their advantage in order to get their message across to the people. Another 70 years go by, and that’s when former President Franklin D. Roosevelt utilized the accessibility of the radio in the U.S. to reach the homes, American families.
Dr. Suzanne Chod, professor of political science, said “That was him telling the people ‘here’s what needs to happen in this country’ and then assuming people would put their pressures on their members of Congress to enact his agenda.”
FDR used more than 30 Fireside Chats from 1933 to 1944 to address the nation during his four consecutive terms to give his speeches via radio. The use of radio to communicate with the nation appears to be successful since he is the only president ever to be elected to four consecutive terms.
After FDR, the advancement in technology developed on a more rapid level taking on more of a role in the president’s ability to reach their constituents.
For the 1960 election, the first ever presidential debate was broadcast on television. The outcome of this election was one of the first to experience a heavy influence of the capabilities of the media. Those who heard the debate over the radio felt that Nixon had won and those who saw the debate felt that Kennedy had won. In the end, Kennedy defeated Nixon in the 1960 election.
Television continued to grow with the coverage of the Watergate scandal involving former President Richard Nixon. It then continued to grow even more when the 24/7 news cycle became relevant involving former President Bill Clinton and his administration during the 1990s.
With television becoming more of a staple within American households, citizens gained coverage on both Nixon’s resignation from office as well as Clinton’s impeachment from office. The 24/7 news cycle allowed for citizens to find out more about the office holder and showed citizens more than what had ever been known before.
The access to the president during these times is what made Clinton look guilty to the people when he addressed the Monica Lewinsky scandal to the nation. People across the country were able to see his body language when his infamous words “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” were said on television. The usage of technology was not just for the presidents’ benefit but also for their downfalls.
“These different iterations of technology get the people closer to the president, and the president has more access to the people,” Chod said.
As social media has grown over time, former President Barack Obama and current President Donald Trump have used the role of social media in order to reach not only citizens in the United States but also to reach those across the world with access to the internet.
Obama didn’t use social media in the way that it is currently being used by Trump, whereas he started to use social media and its technological advancements to his benefit.
“The use of social media isn’t new but what is new is President Trump using social media as official White House communication, that’s definitely new,” said Chod. “Sort of the lack of professionalism in that communication, that is very new, but it is also what helped him get elected.”
The usage of Twitter on Trump’s personal account to provide official presidential communication has crossed over onto territory that hasn’t been done before. The way of communicating with the public in which it feels less like a president speaking to you and more like any regular person is how some believe that Trump was able to win the election.
The idea of open communication between the president and the citizens is a newer idea that has been brought forward since Trump has been in office. With Trump writing what he wants and putting information out to the public without having anyone filter what he is going to say is something that hasn’t been done before.
“We have always felt that, especially if that communication is formal, even if it is through social media, that there is still a wall because it feels that it’s this stuffy president or candidate that is talking to us but Trump, candidate Trump, it felt like you were having a conversation with somebody or reading what anybody on your Twitter feed would write. So that wall gets broken down a little bit more,” Chod said.
From 1789 when George Washington took the Oath of Office to be the first president of the United States to 2019 when Trump is sharing memes on Twitter, the communication between a president and his people has evolved drastically over time.
With the help of social media, the 45 different presidents have experienced new ways to get their presidential messages across whether that be sending a letter, a radio conversation, being seen on television or on the internet.
