Observer - Headlines

Cover Story - The Will of the People

This Liberty magazine cover depicts a voter pondering her choice in the 1932 presidential campaign, one of six included in "The Will of the People? Presidential Campaigns That Made the Nation" exhibition at the University's Museum of American Political Life.

From a perspective nearly 70 years later, it seems as if there could have been only one choice. Hoover, the scapegoat for the Great Depression, who will forever be saddled with a radio announcer’s "Hoobert Heever" malapropism? Or FDR, the man who led America to victory in World War II, won a never-to-be-repeated four consecutive terms, and stared down hard times with the timeless "We have nothing to fear but fear itself"?

Connecting the Past to the Present

To Zina Davis, director of the Museum of American Political Life, the thousands of banners, buttons, broadsides, and other objects that remain from long-ago presidential campaigns are not artifacts but tools to understanding today's political scene.

'A Wrapped Up Product Called the Candidate'

Edmund B. Sullivan’s return to campus is not limited to his curatorial duties for "The Will of the People?" The founder of the Museum of American Political Life and professor emeritus of education, is now an adjunct professor of history.

Editor:
Diana Simonds

Art Director:
Keith Campagna

Contributing writers:
Jonathan Easterbrook ’87, ’90; Kim Fiorino; David Isgur; Tom Jones; Beverly Kennedy; Barbara Klemmer; David LaChance; Jessica Levine ’98; Linda Leslie ’99; Barbara Steinberger; Paul D. Tieger ’73, ’83; Margaret Withey

Contributing photographers:
Jeff Feldmann, Bruce Johnson, Steve Laschever, John Marinelli, Andrew Morris, Doug Penhall, Steve Slade

Published in September, November, March and June for faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the University.

Published by the Office of Communications - University of Hartford
200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, Connecticut, 06117-1599.