Government, Politics, and Reform - Overview
George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln are all represented in the Museum's collections—by a surveying compass, a lap desk, and a top hat, among other artifacts. But the roughly 100,000 objects in this collection reach beyond the possessions of statesmen to touch the broader political life of the nation—in election campaigns, the women's suffrage movement, labor activity, civil rights, and many other areas. Campaign objects make up much of the collection, including posters, novelties, ballots, voting machines, and many others. A second group includes general political history artifacts, such as first ladies' clothing and accessories, diplomatic materials, ceremonial objects, national symbols, and paintings and sculptures of political figures. The third main area focuses on artifacts related to political reform movements, from labor unions to antiwar groups.
"Government, Politics, and Reform - Overview" showing 17 items.
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Sheet Music, "We Are Coming Father Abraam," 1862
- Description
- Never before had such massive armies confronted each other with such deadly force. Mobilizing and maintaining these large armies became a central focus for both sides.
- In 1862, Lincoln called for an additional 300,000 volunteers prompting James Sloane Gibbons to write a poem, “We are coming, Father Abraam, three hundred thousand more.” It was first published anonymously in the New York Evening Post and was set to music by a number of composers including P.S. Gilmore.
- Gift of King S. Levin, 1980
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1862
- associated date
- 1862
- referenced
- Lincoln, Abraham
- ID Number
- 1980.0066.01
- accession number
- 1980.0066
- catalog number
- 1980.0066.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Saddle
- Description
- The Spaniards who invaded Mexico brought to North America a well-developed equestrian tradition. Over the centuries, horses, saddles, and other riding paraphernalia were altered by the landscape and the lifestyles of both Spanish and indigenous riders. Accompanied by mariachi music, la charrería is the elaborate and spectacle-driven tradition of horsemanship in Mexico. As a national sport rooted in the everyday demands of ranching, the crafts and techniques of charrería were adopted and modified by American settlers in the 19th century. They in turn developed their own rodeo tradition. This elaborate saddle with embossed silver medallions was given to General Philip Sheridan by a Mexican friend in 1866. In that year, General Sheridan armed Mexican nationalists led by Benito Juárez, and headed a 50,000-man army along the U.S.-Mexico border in order to pressure France to end its occupation of Mexico.
- Location
- Currently not on view
- Date made
- ca 1865
- associated date
- 1865
- associated user
- Sheridan, Philip H.
- maker
- Felipe del Aguila
- ID Number
- CL*035293
- catalog number
- 35293
- 35,293
- accession number
- 89849
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Casts of Abraham Lincoln's Face and Hands
- Description
- Chicago artist Leonard Volk produced this plaster life mask of Abraham Lincoln in April 1860. Volk made the casts of Lincoln’s hands on May 20, two days after the Republican Party nominated him for the presidency. Lincoln’s right hand was still swollen from shaking hands with supporters. To steady his hand in the mold, Lincoln went out to the woodshed and cut off a piece of broom handle. Volk later placed the piece of handle in the cast displayed here.
- In 1886 Volk’s son sold the casts of Lincoln’s face and hands to a group that proposed having the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens make a limited set of replicas.
- In 1888 the 33 supporters of this project presented Volk’s personal copies of the life mask and hands, along with bronze replicas produced by Saint-Gaudens, to the U.S. government for preservation. The donation was made on the condition that “the original plaster casts should never be tampered with.” Any future casts could only be made from the bronze replicas.
- Gift of the Thirty-three Subscribers, 1888
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1860
- depicted (sitter)
- Lincoln, Abraham
- artist
- Volk, Leonard Wells
- maker
- Volk, Leonard Wells
- ID Number
- COLL.VLKCST.005005
- accession number
- 20084
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Abraham Lincoln Life Mask by Clark Mills, 1865
- Description
- On February 11, 1865, about two months before his death, Abraham Lincoln permitted sculptor Clark Mills to make this life mask of his face. This was the second and last life mask made of Lincoln. The strain of the presidency was written on Abraham Lincoln’s face. His secretary, John Hay, remarked on the dramatic difference in Lincoln’s two life masks. He noted that the first mask, produced by Leonard Volk in 1860, “is a man of fifty-one, and young for his years. . . . It is a face full of life, of energy, of vivid aspiration. . . . .The other is so sad and peaceful in its infinite repose . . . . a look as of one on whom sorrow and care had done their worst without victory is on all the features.”
- Gift of Theodore Mills, the artist’s son, 1889
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1865
- associated person
- Lincoln, Abraham
- Mills, Clark
- maker
- Mills, Clark
- ID Number
- PL*004853
- catalog number
- 4853
- accession number
- 21843
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Election Poster, 1864
- Description
- This 1864 election poster shows portraits of the candidates for president and vice president, their parties’ platforms, and the candidates’ letters accepting their parties’ nominations.
- Lincoln had good reason to doubt his chances for reelection. No president since Andrew Jackson in 1832 had won a second term.
- The Democratic Party nominated Gen. George McClellan, whom Lincoln had removed from command. McClellan ran on an anti-Lincoln and anti-Emancipation Proclamation platform and left open the possibility of a negotiated peace with the South.
- As the election approached, Union triumphs on the battlefield helped propel Lincoln to victory. He declared the election results a mandate to press on for an unconditional victory and a constitutional amendment to end slavery.
- Gift of Ralph E. Becker, 1974
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1864
- associated date
- 1864-11-08
- associated person
- Lincoln, Abraham
- McClellan, George B.
- ID Number
- PL*227739.1864.F07
- catalog number
- 227739.1864.F07
- accession number
- 274861
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
McClellan Ballot, 1864
- Description
- Democratic ballot for George McClellan
- Lincoln had good reason to doubt his chances for reelection. No president since Andrew Jackson in 1832 had won a second term.
- The Democratic Party nominated Gen. George McClellan, whom Lincoln had removed from command. McClellan ran on an anti-Lincoln and anti-Emancipation Proclamation platform and left open the possibility of a negotiated peace with the South.
- As the election approached, Union triumphs on the battlefield helped propel Lincoln to victory. He declared the election results a mandate to press on for an unconditional victory and a constitutional amendment to end slavery.
- Gift of Ralph E. Becker, 1974
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1864
- associated person
- McClellan, George B.
- Pendleton, George H.
- ID Number
- PL*227739.1864.T03
- catalog number
- 227739.1864.T03
- accession number
- 227739
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
"Hurrah for Lincoln" Campaign Torch, 1860
- Description
- Abraham Lincoln's 1860 campaign encouraged the use of massive, emotionally charged political parades. One observer wrote that the "Torch-light procession is undoubtedly the largest and most imposing thing of its kind ever witnessed in Chicago. Unprejudiced spectators estimate the number at 10,000. Throughout the whole length of the procession were scattered portraits of ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Banners and tranparencies bearing Republican mottoes, and pictures of rail splitters, were also plentifully distributed. Forth-three bands of music were also in the procession."
- Gift of Carl Haverlin, 1962
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1860
- associated person
- Lincoln, Abraham
- ID Number
- PL*240719.01
- catalog number
- 240719.01
- accession number
- 240719
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Mary Lincoln's Purse
- Description
- Mary Lincoln's gold evening purse, 1863. Her name and the year were engraved inside the ring.
- Gift of Lincoln Isham, great-grandson of Abraham Lincoln, 1958
- date made
- 1863
- associated date
- 1863
- associated person
- Lincoln, Mary Todd
- ID Number
- PL*278039.02
- catalog number
- 278039.02
- accession number
- 278039
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Ceremonial Sword from Lincoln's Funeral
- Description
- U.S. Medical Staff Officer Dr. Charles Leale wore this sword while serving in the honor guard for Lincoln’s body when it lay in state at the White House and the U.S. Capitol, April 1865. Leale was on duty at Ford’s Theatre the night of the assassination and was the first doctor to reach the dying president.
- Bequest of Helen Leale Harper, Dr Charles Leale’s granddaughter, 2006
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1864
- patient; referenced
- Lincoln, Abraham
- referenced
- Leale, Charles
- maker
- United States Army
- ID Number
- 2006.0251.01
- accession number
- 2006.0251
- catalog number
- 2006.0251.01
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
Wooden Campaign Parade Axe, 1860
- Description
- The idea of creating the image of Lincoln as “the rail splitter” was the inspiration of Illinois politician Richard J. Oglesby. He sought to find “one thing in Mr. Lincoln’s unsuccessful career as a worker that could be made an emblem … [to] make enthusiastic the working people.”
- Like other candidates of his time, Lincoln stayed home in Springfield, Illinois, while party leaders spoke on his behalf. Political clubs decorated their headquarters with fence rails and organized massive rallies throughout the North. The imagery of “Old Abe the Rail Splitter” presented Lincoln as a down-to-earth common man and served as a powerful symbol of free labor and individual enterprise.
- Gift of Ralph E. Becker, 1961
- Location
- Currently not on view
- date made
- 1860
- associated person
- Lincoln, Abraham
- ID Number
- PL*227739.1860.X01
- catalog number
- 227739.1860.X01
- accession number
- 242604
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center
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