"Some of you may be aware of my fondness for Western art. And in the last couple of years, we've tried to bring its influence to the White House--a natural home for a very American expression. Like that art, this exhibit can remind those of us who work or visit here what America is all about. If we understand this part of our history and our continuing fascination with it, we will better understand how our people see themselves and the hopes they have for America Another President from the West, Dwight Eisenhower of Abilene, Kansas once said, "Whatever America hopes to bring to pass in the world must first come to pass in the heart of America." Well, I think America’s heart is on display here. This exhibit explores both the reality and the myth of the American West. And both are important. Here are more than the bits and pieces of a rough and gritty life, but the tangible remnants of a national legend. Among the horsehair lassoes and Remington sculptures and Gene Autry songs is a part of our national identity. Tails of Wild West men and women from Kit Carson to Wild Bill Hickok to Calamity Jane to Annie Oakley are woven into the dreams of our youths and the standards we aim to live by in our adult lives. Ideals of courageous and self-reliant heroes, both men and women, are the stuff of Western lore. It all comes back as you browse through this exhibit. The difference between right wrong seems as clear as the white hats that the cowboys in Hollywood pictures always wore so you’d know right from the beginning who was the good guy. Integrity, morality, and democratic values are the resounding themes. Life wasn’t simple then, and it certainly isn’t today. But in the words of a noted historian, "Americans, in making their Western myths, were not put off by discrepancies with reality. Americans believed about the West not so much what was true, but what they thought ought to be true." He went on, "Lacking the common heritage that bound other nations together, they were forced to look elsewhere for the basis of their national existence. And they found it in the West." -Ronald Reagan

Perhaps no one in American history recognized more greatly and relied upon more successfully the truth of these words than the man who uttered them on March 24, 1983 at the opening of "The American Cowboy" Exhibit at the Library of Congress. Ronald Reagan recognized the importance of American hero worship and myth making, particularly in regards to the West, and exploited them in his political campaigns.

For many reasons, the American West has always been a place of great romance. In truth, nineteenth century life on the frontier was very grueling and often unsafe, but to Americans it still represented freedom. This is the disparity between reality and longing that Reagan addressed in his speech. America saw the West as a place of escape, and the Westerner as bravely standing on his or her own two feet.

Unlike the long-standing civilizations of Europe, America has very little reverence for place. America stays in motion, literally and figuratively. It prides itself on constant progression through space and through time. Now, more than ever, Americans see the "Old West" of Manifest Destiny as the symbol of escape and the cowboy in the white hat as a symbol of old-fashioned American morality.

Perhaps the most successful and common strategy in the history of American politics is the critique of the status quo. Every candidate who tries so desperately to get to Washington does so by disparaging the capital. Promising relief from the same old bureaucratic nonsense, so many politicians introduce themselves as the outsider whose ideals will not be compromised. The most successful candidates make the voters believe they are one with them, a common person looking to help the common person.

The West, not as place but as image, represents exactly these qualities. The Western hero, cowboy and farmer, has become the symbol for the ultimate American, the common man. This site explores the use of the Western hero image in United States presidential campaigns. The goal is not just to identify the strategies that made candidates successful but how these strategies--and the importance of authenticity--changed as our nation did.