History of the United States II / Unit 16 USH2 2285 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The Election of 1988
Captions available
The idea
In nineteen eighty-eight Vice President George H. W. Bush defeated Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis, pledging read my lips: no new taxes.
In practice
A Bush campaign advertisement featuring Willie Horton, a Black convicted murderer released on a Massachusetts prison furlough, as the Yawp records.
Where people slip
Digital History calls the campaign unusually vacuous and cynical; the anchor says the tax pledge later constrained Bush.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
Unlocks
Something wrong in this lesson? Flag it · Sources for History of the United States II