"The President is Coming to Town:" Campaign Stops and Presidential Visits

Nothing can excite a local community more than a visit by the President of the United States. From large cities to small towns of less than 1,000 people, presidents have visited many places in America, especially in an election year or when they are trying to put pressure on Congress to pass certain bills. Since George Washington's southern tour in the 1790's, presidents have more often than not traveled while they were in office, meeting fellow citizens and brightening whole communities. A lot the presidents before the Civil War did not travel outside of Washington D.C. too often, especially because railroads were not yet common and travel would take a very long time. Also, a lot of presidents did not campaign much back then because the office was very prestigious and you did not want to give off the impression that you wanted to be president. In other words, the presidency found you. By the time of the Industrial Revolution, train tracks had been laid all across the country, and travel was now much easier. It was common in the William McKinley area to go around the state giving speeches, or in some cases, for the people to come to the candidate and meet them on their "front porch" as it would become known as. McKinley and Warren Harding were famous for campaigning this way. With the invention of the automobile, presidents became more mobile, often taking vacations and making numerous campaign stops and visits to cities across America. Nothing changed presidential travel like the invention of the airplane, most notable Air Force One, first used by Dwight D. Eisenhower. With air travel, presidents could leave Washington for a visit to another area of the country and be back at the capital by night, allowing the president to stay in control of the nation. In today's world, travel has become a huge part of the role of the presidency, from meeting with world leaders to campaign stops and small town visits, the president draws a lot of attention wherever they go, and at least for one day, small towns are recognized on the world stage. Some notable facts about presidents traveling: Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to leave the country while in office, going to Panama to view progress on the canal. Woodrow Wilson was the first to visit Europe while in office, going to Paris for the Peace Conference after WWI. Richard Nixon was the first sitting president to visit Hawaii. Warren Harding was the first to see Alaska. Some presidents never left Washington, D.C. their entire presidency, except to visit a local getaway in Virginia or Maryland. In the early days, about the only travel presidents did was to go back home or to take a vacation, not to campaign or give speeches. Presidents are often criticized for the amount of time they spend away from Washington, but travel is an important part of representing the United States, and it is not uncommon nowadays to have a president who never spends a full week in the capital on a regular basis. Campaign items from visits and one day events are highly collectible and fun to look at. Since buttons have been produced, one day events have been made into keepsakes for the attendees. Who doesn't want a souvenir of a presidential visit? I have included some of my items that involve a visit by a president to a local town.