1904: Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th president and the first elected at the turn of the 20th century. Pictured above, he addresses a crowd of suffragettes. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Before Twitter and Facebook dominated presidential campaigns, candidates found any number of other ways to spread their message. From draping their slogans over covered wagons to debating on grainy black-and-white news broadcasts, candidates have had to drastically alter their campaign tactics over the past 115 years.
1908: The 1908 presidential election came down to a race between Republican William Howard Taft and Democrat William Jennings Bryan. Bryan, pictured above, delivers his campaign speech at a rally but would eventually lose to frontrunner Taft. (Library of Congress)
High-angle view of crowds on the floor of the Republican National Convention during the opening address, Chicago, Illinois, June 16, 1908. Convention delegates nominated William Howard Taft for president. (Keystone/Getty Images)
1916: A Woodrow Wilson campaign truck offers New York City voters a summary of the 1916 Democratic platform. Wilson's platform included rural farm credits and a federally mandated eight-hour work day for railroad workers. (Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library Archives)
1920: Pictured above, a group of suffragettes visit then-Senator Warren G. Harding shortly after he received the Republican party nomination. (Library of Congress)
1928: Herbet Hoover delivers a speech at a campaign rally. Hoover ran as a Republican and assumed office in 1929. (Library of Congress)
1932: Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president in 1932, beating his Republican opponent and incumbent Herbert Hoover. (National Archives)
The International Ladies Garmet Workers Union pins buttons on supporters of Franklin D. Roosevelt at a campaign rally. (Kheel Center)
1948: A group of women from the Women's Division of the New York State Democratic Committee hold a sign bearing the words "Housewives for Truman." (Harry S. Truman Library and Museum)
1956: President Eisenhower delivers a speech at the Republican National Convention while running for re-election in 1956. (National Archives)
President Eisenhower speaks at the Republican Women's National Conference while seaking re-election. (National Archives)
1960: During the 1960 presidential race, voters could tune in to televised debates for the first time. Almost 70 million people watched the debate between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon, pictured above. (National Archives)
Senator John F. Kennedy stops in a diner in Nashua, New Hampshire during the New Hampshire primary campaign. (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston)
1964: President Lyndon B Johnson addressing a Liberal Party rally on stage, with his wife Lady Bird Johnson seated behind him, Madison Square Garden, New York, October 21st 1964. (Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
1969: Republican presidential candidate Vice-President Richard Nixon waves to the crowds as he leaves the Hotel Commodore in New York in 1960 to begin an election campaign across Long Island. With him is his wife Pat. (Central Press/Getty Images)
Two supporters of American politician Richard Nixon at Miami Beach, where Nixon was nominated Republican presidential candidate by the party convention. (Keystone/Getty Images)
1976: Democratic candidate for the US Presidency Jimmy Carter during the Democratic National Convention in New York City. (AFP/Getty Images)
Democratic presidential candidate Jimmy Carter speaks at a podium while his brother Billy, wife Rosalynn and other family members applaud on election night, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia, 1976. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
1980: American politician Ronald Reagan smiles as he speaks on his presidential campaign in front of a large banner, 1979. Pennsylvania governor William Scranton applauds. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Former Governor of California Ronald Reagan making a speech during the Republican presidential primary in New York, March 1980. Reagan won the New York primary and was later selected as the Republican nominee, before being elected President in 1981. (Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
1988: Former vice president and Republican nominee George H.W. Bush won the presidential election in 1988. Pictured above, he stops at a campaign rally in Omaha, Nebraska. (Wikipedia Commons)
Democratic Party's candidate Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential race. (Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images)
1992: U.S. President George Bush speaks to supporters during a question and answer session in Des Moines, Iowa. President Bush talked about the latest econmic growth figures and said, "The Democrats keep telling us that everything is going to hell, but they are wrong." (J. David Ake/AFP/Getty Images)
Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton (c), US President George Bush (r) and presidential candidate Ross Perrot (l) in a picture taken 11 October 1992 in Saint Louis answer questions at the athletic center at Washington University during a first of four US presidential debates. (Eugene Garcia/AFP/Getty Images)
Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton waves to supporters as he holds the hand of his wife Hillary, 22 July, 1992 after speaking at a rally. St. Louis was the last stop on the Clinton-Gore campaign's bus tour. The crowd was estimated at 40,000. (Tim Clary/AFP/Getty Images)
We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.
Sarah Gibbens is a producer on National Journal's audience development team. She previously worked as a digital media fellow at The Podesta Group and as a writer for San Antonio-based newspaper The Rivard Report. Sarah graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio where she was the editor-in-chief of the independent student newspaper, The Paisano.
