Presidential Campaign Biographies

The Presidential Campaign Biography Collection began in 1964 when the graduating class of Central Michigan University gifted the Clarke Historical Library with funds to acquire biographies written as part of an individual’s quest for the presidency. The collection today extends chronologically from the election of Andrew Jackson to that of Donald Trump. It focuses on candidates from the two major parties, the Democrats and Republicans, and generally does not include biographies published by third party candidates. For more recent campaigns, the collection includes not only biographies of the two final presidential candidates, but also any announced candidate for a major party nomination who, as part of a primary campaign, published a biography. For more recent campaigns, the collection also includes politically motivated books about primary candidates or presidential nominees that are not issued by the party or candidate. Although it can be difficult to draw clear lines in this area, these books are neither primarily abstract discussions of policy nor primarily journalistic endeavors, but rather books published either to support or attack a particular candidate.