Name_____________________________________
Quarter 3 Mini-Project 50 pts
Get to know your presidents! We have been focusing on the presidential terms of our early presidents. Your task
is to get to know a president who is up next. You will need to get to know him as you have been tasked with trying
to get him elected. Good luck! Remember, campaigns often use trickery, exaggeration, personal stories and
negative ads to get their candidate elected. What route will you choose?
Your assignment:
 Create a 1 -2 page campaign ad that is catchy, features a campaign slogan, a picture, and/or quote(s) that
will convince the audience to vote for your candidate and possibly NOT to vote for the opponent.
You should create your campaign ad by doing the following:
 Selecting a President from the list below:
o James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison,
James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln
o You may decide to do the Vice Presidential campaign for John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, or Andrew
Johnson – men who ascended to the presidency through the death of the current president
o You may want to use your textbook to find out a bit more about each president before choosing
 Research his campaign:
o Who did he run against?
o Was it his election or re-election?
o What was his background?
o What were his beliefs and plans for the country? (You can usually figure this out by what he
promised during the campaign or what he accomplished once he was in office.)
o What was his political party? What beliefs did they have?
o What about his opponent’s beliefs and plans for the country?
o What events were going on during that time period that played a role in the election?
o Are there any stories that you might be able to use to your candidate’s advantage or against your
opponent?
 Create your campaign ad! (You can do this a variety of ways. Ex. draw, use Microsoft Word or Publisher,
make a video or brochure)
 Giving credit where credit is due
o Instead of a Works Cited, keep a list of all the websites you visit, including where you find any
pictures. (Remember, Google is a search engine, not a website!)
o This list should be separate from your ad. It is preferred that this be submitted via Google Docs.
o www.whitehouse.gov is a good place to start.
Your campaign ad should catch people’s attention, be grammatically correct, and be neatly organized.
The campaign ad will be worth 50 points. See back for the point breakdown.
Name________________________________
TURN IN WITH PROJECT
Presidential Campaign Ad
Due Friday, March 14*
Which President are you choosing? ______________________________
What year was the election? ____________________________
_______/7
_______/5
Correct grammar is used throughout including appropriate capitalization
and sentence structure.
Campaign ad is neat and organized.
_______/8
Campaign ad is catchy and persuasive.
_______/10
Historically accurate information is used.
Background information about the candidate’s life or previous
experience is included.
The candidate’s political party and political beliefs are included.
_______/5
Opinions about current topics and concerns of the country are included.
_______/5
List of websites used. Separate from ad. Turned in via email or Google
Docs.
_______/50
Total
_______/10
*A hard copy of the project may be turned in during class on March 14 OR via Google Docs by 3:30 PM on March
14. Projects may be turned in after this date for a 20% late reduction. The reduction will increase with each day
late. Please turn in on March 13 if you have a prearranged absence for March 14. Please email Mrs. Walsh your
project if you are not in school on March 14.