Al Smith and Fearmongering, Racist Propaganda in the 1928 U.S. Presidential Election
The images below show an article from 1928 that was published to an unknown number of voters. If you've seen my film The Sidewalks of New York, you know that the tactic of fear was used to scare people from voting for Al Smith in the 1928 presidential election. They denied him the presidency, despite history showing us today that he had the qualities and experience of someone who truly could have been one of our greatest presidents, even with the inevitable 1929 stock market crash.
To bluntly summarize, the 1928 article wrongly acts like black people are scary and not to be trusted, and that they regularly offer insults to white women on street corners in Harlem. It also says that if Smith is voted in, the White House will be sure to cater to the needs of African Americans.
Just like The Country Editor and World Press News existed in 1928 to push out propaganda, there are today "news" outlets on the internet that publish misleading stories. People in 1928 passed around the articles by hand. Today people click 'Share'.
Unfortunately, just as people 89 years ago blindly believed what they read without making any attempts to check any available sources, today many people continue to do the same, despite there being a greater abundance of information, and despite all the years of education and life experience. Add on top of that the fact that most American homes have been using the internet in their homes for around 20 years, yet they still don't seem to know how to use it to properly gather facts, data, and sources.
I believe that this comes not only from bigotry and hatred, but also it comes from a need for people to feel correct about the votes they've cast, and the parties they've chosen to support. Very often the people experiencing this are in denial that they are the problem, again because of the need to feel correct. They're stuck. They choose parties like it's the same as sports, even though the only true team is the party of "What's Best For The Country?".
The past holds lessons that can help us in the present. I hope that one day the world can understand this simple idea.