The Election of 1800
Step 1: Assign Roles
Campaign Manager
Head of the Political Campaign
Duties include:
• Making sure that the other members of
the campaign remain on-task and fulfill
their roles.
• Assists campaign team with research
on candidate and opponent.
• Director of the campaign
advertisement. In charge of planning
your candidates advertisement by
creating a storyboard or script for
commercial.
Name _____________________________________
Political Consultant
Clarifies candidate’s position on important
Issues of the day
Duties include:
• Researching information about your
candidate’s political beliefs and
accomplishments.
• Along with the Head of Opposition
Research, you will create the banner
for your candidate using all information
gathered.
• Assist campaign team with
advertisement.
Name_____________________________________
Head of Opposition Research
Digs up information on the opponent
Duties include:
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Researching relevant information about
opposing candidate.
Along with the Political Consultant, you
will create the banner for your candidate
using all information gathered.
Assist campaign team with
advertisement.
Along with the Mudslinger, ensures that
the campaign team has a gimmick.
Name _____________________________________
Mudslinger
Digs up “dirt” on the opponent
Duties include:
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Researching “dirt” that can be negatively
used against the opposing candidate.
Assist Campaign Manager is planning and
creating commercial for your candidate.
Planning and creating the slogan for your
candidate.
Along with the Head of Opposition
Research, ensures that the campaign
team has a gimmick.
Name _____________________________________
Step 2: Learn about your candidate. Take turns reading aloud from the documents provided and the textbooks to obtain
information about your candidate. You must gather information about your candidate’s position on these important topics of
the day: the XYZ Affair, the Alien and Sedition Acts, Relations with France, Relations with Britain, and the Virginia and
Kentucky Resolutions. You can use reliable outside resources for research as well. You must also identify your candidate’s
political party and the beliefs of his political party. You may also include any other relevant information that supports your
candidate including past accomplishments.
Step 3: Learn about your opponent. Take turns reading aloud from the documents provided and the textbooks to obtain
information about your opponent. You must gather information about your opponent’s position on these important topics of
the day: the XYZ Affair, the Alien and Sedition Acts, Relations with France, Relations with Britain, and the Virginia and
Kentucky Resolutions. You also want to dig up as much dirt as possible on your opponent. You can use reliable outside
resources for research as well. You must also identify your opponent’s political party and the beliefs of his political party. You
may also include any other relevant information that hurts your opponent including past failures.
Step 4: Write a slogan for your candidate. This slogan will be used on your campaign poster and advertisement. It must
include a reference to a specific issue of the day.
For Example (see back):
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“We are going to win this war and the peace that follows” — 1944 campaign slogan in the midst of World War II by
Democratic president Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute." – John Adams, 1800 (you can’t use this)
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“Four more years of the full dinner pail” — 1900 U.S. presidential slogan of William McKinley
Slogan: _______________________________________________________________________________
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Step 5: Brainstorm ideas for your campaign poster using visuals provided.
Your campaign poster needs to
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to be informative, appealing, and creative.
include all of the documents provided. A caption must be written for each document that explains it and why it
supports your candidate or hurts his opponent.
contain your candidate’s political party affiliation and his position on these important topics of the day: the XYZ Affair,
the Alien and Sedition Acts, Relations with France, Relations with Britain, and the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions.
identify your candidate’s political party and the beliefs of his political party.
include any other relevant information that supports your candidate including past accomplishments.
include the failures and shortcomings of his opponent and his opponent’s political party.
use at least four vocabulary words.
Step 6: Brainstorm ideas for your campaign advertisement.
Create a storyboard or script for your campaign advertisement. Your campaign advertisement can be video, audio, or acted
out. Your campaign advertisement needs to
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be informative, appealing, and creative.
contain your candidate’s position on the three most important topics of the day (Choose three): the XYZ Affair, the
Alien and Sedition Acts, Relations with France, Relations with Britain, and the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions.
must emphasize your candidate’s political beliefs.
include any other relevant information that supports your candidate including past accomplishments.
include at least two pieces of dirt on your opponent.
use at least four vocabulary words.
Step 7: Brainstorm ideas for a gimmick that shows your group’s support for your candidate.
Create something that your group will wear or carry that displays your support for your candidate. You must have enough for
each member of your group. Examples could be stickers, pins, or even t-shirts. Be creative.
Step 8: Create campaign poster and advertisement.
Work together to create
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A campaign poster that is visually appealing and creative and meets the requirements above
A campaign advertisement between one and two minutes (no longer) that shows the strengths of your candidate and
the weaknesses of his opponent
A gimmick that shows your group’s support for your candidate (stickers, t-shirts, pins, etc.)