CAMPAIGN BUTTONS
1789 to the present
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The oath of office was administered to
George Washington on April 30, 1789 at Federal Hall, which stood at Broad and
Wall Streets in New York City. The oath was administered by Robert Livingston,
Chancellor of the State of New York, who at the conclusion stepped forward,
raised his hand and shouted, Long Live George Washington, President of the
United States.
Very soon, the button makers of New
York and Connecticut were making buttons to commemorate the historic event.
Many of them bore the inscription, Long Live The President, others, an eagle
surmounted by a sunburst to symbolize the birth of the new government; and others,
a device of an endless chain of thirteen links, each bearing the initials of
one of the thirteen original states enclosing the initials of the first
President.
Wherever Washington traveled in New
England that fall, these buttons were in full view. Though not a campaign
button, they are significant in there commemoration of the United States first
President.
In the first nine elections it was
common belief that the office sought the man, the man should not seek the
office. Therefore no campaign material can be found for this period. In my
collection I have a period newspaper reporting about the forth election and the
56 times balloting took place before Thomas Jefferson was given the nod, but
nothing more. The forth election was
the only one of the first nine which saw anything close to a contest for the
office. Starting with the 10th election, in 1824, this would all change.
By
Resolution of Congress on February 27, 1815, General Andrew Jackson was awarded
a gold medal for the brave and successful repulse of British troops who had
attacked New Orleans the month before. The execution of the medal was long
delayed because of Jacksons tardiness in providing the engraver with a
suitable portrait, but by the time Jackson became an announced candidate for
President of the United States in the election of 1824, the medal had been
executed and was formally presented to him by President Monroe on March 16,
1824. Shortly thereafter Jacksons supporters were sporting from their lapels
small brass discs which bore the name and likeness of the General and a
reference to his victory at New Orleans. Thus was born the symbol of the
American presidential election, the political campaign button.
The previous was taken mostly from "America Goes to the Polls" published by The Travelers Insurance Companies, 1952, as part of the quadrennial campaign exhibit done by Mr. J. Doyle DeWitt.
Pre 1896
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JACKSON |
VANBUREN |
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W. H. HARRISON |
TAYLOR |
FILLMORE |
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BUCHANAN |
PIERCE |
SCOTT |
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FREMONT |
BELL |
LINCOLN |
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JEFFERSON DAVIS CSA |
BRECKINRIDGE |
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McCLELLAN |
SEYMOUR |
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GRANT |
HANCOCK |
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GARFIELD |
TILDEN |
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BLAINE |
CLEVELAND |
B. HARRISON |
Next the Golden
Age of Buttons