Q&A: In the Archives, A Student Uncovers How Music Shaped Presidential Campaigns

Every four years, presidential campaigns flood the American soundscape with carefully chosen songs — rousing anthems, country ballads, pop hits — meant to strike a chord with voters. But what do these campaign playlists really tell us about the candidates, the time they ran in, and the voters they hoped to reach? 

For his senior thesis, recent Communication and History major graduate C.H. Henry (C'25) dug deep into archives of campaign materials, recordings, and historical accounts to explore the surprising role music has played in shaping the political imagination of American voters over the course of three campaigns: John F. Kennedy in 1960, Ronald Reagan in 1984, and Bill Clinton in 1992.

Guiding his research was David Eisenhower, Director of the Institute for Public Service at the Annenberg School for Communication, whose own expertise in American political history provided a vital framework for the project. Under Eisenhower’s mentorship, Henry was able to situate campaign music not only as a cultural artifact but also as a lens into the dynamics of democracy itself.

In this Q&A, we talk with Henry about the challenges and rewards of archival research:

Where did you travel to do your archival research? What was it like digging through campaign documents, advertisements, or recordings, and did you come across anything that surprised you?

Aside from the frequent visits to the Annenberg and Van Pelt libraries, my research led me to the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston. For both Clinton and Reagan, I received hundreds of online documents and resources from archivists in Fayetteville, AR, and Simi Valley, CA. I greatly prefer in-person research — as does Professor Eisenhower — but traveling across the country multiple times in just a few months seemed a bit unrealistic. What I gathered in person for Kennedy and remotely for Reagan and Clinton proved to be more than enough. I particularly enjoyed placing myself in the shoes of each campaign team. Figuring out the angle to approach each election, candidate, or voter was a very rewarding experience; I’d say it even changed my perception of both campaigns in the 2024 election. What surprised me the most when conducting my analyses of each campaign was the vast similarities between the candidates. Campaign tactics are highly recycled with varying rates of electoral success. Only after sifting through all three of my candidates did I realize they were not all too different.

Why did you choose the Kennedy, Reagan, and Clinton campaigns in particular?

I originally chose twelve campaigns to study, and with Dr. Kim Woolf’s pivotal guidance, I narrowed it down to three. In truth, it was very challenging to pick which candidates and elections to study, but there was a clear line of thought behind the decision. I knew from the start that I wanted to research fairly recent American elections, which would still have modern implications in the field of campaigning. Therefore, elections pre-1932 were ruled out; these campaigns had their own candidate-tailored marching songs, which, while interesting and effective, are not common today. 

Furthermore, studying campaigns post-2000 is difficult for any researcher because internal campaign communications and documents are not readily available yet. With this window (1932-2000) in mind, I wanted to choose candidates who each won decisive elections and had varying backgrounds. Most importantly, campaign music had to play a significant role in each campaign I studied. I found that Kennedy ’60, Reagan ’84, and Clinton ’92 satisfied my requirements, and I hope more can be researched about campaign music for other successful/unsuccessful candidates, in other countries, and across different media platforms.

David Eisenhower was your thesis advisor — how did his input shape your research?

Professor Eisenhower was as much of a valuable information resource as he was a source of confidence. Many times throughout my research and writing processes, I felt overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content and questions that needed answering — I think that is a natural part of the senior thesis. Fortunately, Professor Eisenhower helped me see the bigger picture whenever I was bogged down in the details. 

He first provided me with insight when I researched Hoover’s post-presidency in the Communications and the Presidency course. Later, he was a great travel companion and teacher during the Conventions, Debates, and Campaigns course surrounding the 2024 election. When working on my thesis, he frequently provided a grand perspective. During each of our meetings, he gave me pointed questions that truly helped me reach final conclusions about campaigning in every presidential election. His breadth of knowledge and firsthand stories made a daunting objective less of an obstacle and more of a passion project.

Henry's research was supported by the Penn Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF) College Alumni Society Undergraduate Research Grant.