Doll, Ronald Reagan, 1984: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Ten different candidates received votes in the 1980 Republican presidential primaries but only two, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, proved to be truly competitive. During a primary debate in Pennsylvania, one of the seven primaries he would win that year, Bush referred to Reagan’s economic policies as “voodoo economics.” In spite of their disagreements over these and other programs, when Reagan won the nomination he chose Bush to be his running mate. They easily defeated President Jimmy Carter (Democrat) and Representative John Anderson (Independent). However, the phrase “voodoo economics” stuck. When President Reagan and Vice President Bush ran for re-election in 1984 several versions of a Reagan Voodoo Doll were sold. The incumbents won again in a landslide against Democratic challenger Walter Mondale who had been the vice president on the losing Democratic ticket four years earlier.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1984
• depicted (sitter): Reagan, Ronald Wilson
• maker: Heather Hutchison
• Object Name: doll
• Physical Description: cotton (overall material)
• Physical Description: white (overall color)
• Physical Description: black (overall color)
• Measurements: overall: 11 in x 3 1/2 in; 27.94 cm x 8.89 cm
• place made: United States: New York, Saugerties
• depicted: Presidents
• depicted: Political Caricatures
• general subject association: Sewing and Knitting
• ID Number: 2011.0119.01
• accession number: 2011.0119
• catalog number: 2011.0119.01
• Credit Line: Heather Hutchison
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.