In analyzing the policy achievements and lasting impact of Presidents, it is often helpful to look at data relating to things such as the electoral context in which the President serves, level and type of presidential activity, and public approval.
A common expectation is that the President's success in enacting new legislation is dependent on the size of the President's electoral margin and the degree to which the President's party dominate in Congress. Another common expectation is that the President's success is dependent on favorable levels of public approval.
We also include that information is available in other sources, but that are convenient to have in close proximity to the main document collection. An important example is the Election Map Data.
In the collection, we have maps showing election outcomes by state starting with the election of 1789. The maps show at a glance the geographical growth of the United States and the shifting political fortunes of different parties. For each presidential election year, we also provide national and state-by-state voting results, both popular and electoral, of the major party candidates. Note that because of 3rd party candidates, the "total votes" may not precisely equal the sum of the major parties.
In the Data Archive pages we have assembled a wide array of data of interest spanning the range of indicators that scholars have found useful. In some cases, the data summarize aspects of our own document set:
Original Data Compilations
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The Length of Presidential Speeches and Party Platforms
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Major Newspaper Candidate Endorsements
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Size and Complexity of the US Government and the Executive Office of the President
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Party Nominee Naming of Vice-Presidential Choice
Distinct Discoveries Within Our Own Collection
Presidential Leadership Activity