Additional Assignments

1. Using research, create a brief political biography of Barry Goldwater that traces his life in Arizona, his years in the Senate, and the growth of his ideas about republicanism. Include an explanation of why he decided to run for president in 1964 and outline his career in the Senate after his loss in 1964. Based on your research, do you find the charges of Goldwater as an extremist during the 1964 campaign accurate, and did his political stances change after 1964?
2. Compare the “Daisy” commercial with other television ads before, during, and after the 1964 campaign (the Museum of the Moving Image at livingroomcandidate.org/commercials includes a rich collection of ads from 1952–2012, or do your own research on YouTube). Has the tone of campaign ads changed over time, and if yes, what conclusions can you draw from television campaign ads both in terms of campaign strategy and the effectiveness of such campaigns?