Ronald Reagan, the 1980 Republican presidential nominee, originated the slogan “Make America Great Again.” He and his running mate George H.W. Bush used the phrase on buttons and posters in their successful campaign against President Jimmy Carter and Vice President Walter Mondale. Democrat Bill Clinton started his 1992 campaign with the pledge to “make America great again” and Donald Trump trademarked the slogan for his successful 2016 Republican campaign.
President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H. W. Bush were successful in their 1984 campaign for re-election against Democratic challengers Walter Mondale, former vice president, and Geraldine Ferraro, representative from New York.
The Whig campaign of 1840 against incumbent President Martin Van Buren established a pattern of predetermined imagery, from which later campaigns have seldom deviated. The Whigs adopted the symbols of the log cabin and hard cider to promote the candidacy of General William Henry Harrison. An outpouring of objects with designs of log cabins, such as this cream and pink log cabin patterned china creamer soon followed
This English common press dates from about 1720. It includes English box hose and guide boards, but is missing its gallows, tympan, frisket, and bar catch. The press has a height of 78 inches, a width, at cheeks, of 30.5 inches, and a length of 57 inches. The platen measures 12 inches by 18.5 inches.
The press was said to have been used by Benjamin Franklin in John Watts's printing shop in London in 1726. (Another common press, also said to have been used in that shop, is among the holding of the Science Museum in London.) In 1841 the 'Franklin' press was acquired by an American, John B. Murray, who shipped it to the United States. The press was put up for public auction, and exhibited at the Patent Office, the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, and the Smithsonian's U.S. National Museum before being sold to the Smithsonian in 1901.
The 'Franklin' press shows evidence of use, numerous small changes, and fixes made over the years, but is, overall, remarkably complete. It carries two brass labels. The larger, dated June 1833, describes Franklin's re-visit to the Watts shop in 1768, when he ordered a gallon of porter for the printers and toasted his old press. The second, dated November 1841, records the presentation of the press to John Murrray by Harrild & Sons of London.
The 1833 plaque reads: "Dr. Franklin's remarks relative to this press made when he came to England as agent of the Massachusetts in the year 1768. The Dr. at this time visited the printing office of Mr. Watts of Wild Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, & going up to this particular press (afterwards in the possession of Messrs Cox & Son of Great Queen Street of whome it was purchased.). This address'd the men who were working at it. "Come my friends we will drink together: it is now forty years since I worked like you at this press, as a journeyman printer. The Dr. then sent for a gallon porter & he drank with them. "Success to printing." From the above it will appear that it is 108 years since Dr. Franklin worked at this identical press. June 1833"
Purchased from Felicia and Frank Tucker, 1901. Felicia and Frank Tucker were John Murray's widow and new husband.
Citations: Philip Gaskell, "A Census of Wooden Presses," in Journal of the Printing Historical Society 6, 1970 (census no. 4, p. 26; Elizabeth Harris and Clinton Sisson, The Common Press (Godine, Boston, 1978; Elizabeth Harris, "Printing Presses in the Graphic Arts Collection," 1996.
Description
Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), American scientist, diplomat, and one of the authors of the Declaration of Independence, identified himself as a printer. He wrote his own epitaph long before he died: "The Body of BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, Printer. Like the Covering of an old Book, Its contents torn out and stript of its Lettering and Gilding, Lies here, Food for Worms. But the Work shall not be lost, It will (as he believ'd) appear once more In a new and more beautiful Edition Corrected and amended By the Author."
Franklin apprenticed in the Boston printing shop of his brother James from the age of twelve, but ran away at seventeen to Philadelphia. In 1724 he was sent to London where he worked as a printer in the firm of John Watts (where this press is said to have been used) before returning to Philadelphia in 1726. By 1730 he had set up his own printing business and published a newspaper, which gave him a forum for political expression. His political activities led to his involvement in the movement to free the Colonies from British rule. He spent the years 1757–1762 and 1764–1775 in England, returning to Philadelphia to participate in the First Continental Congress. From 1776–1785 he served in France, securing vital French assistance for the American revolutionary effort.
The Franklin press in the Museum's collection is an English common press made early in the eighteenth century. It was on exhibition in the U.S. National Museum beginning in the 1880s, and it was shown in the Hall of Printing and Graphic Arts in this museum from 1964 to 2003. It is missing some of its parts, such as its gallows, tympan, and frisket, so it cannot be operated. A full-sized working replica of the press was made in 1984 for the Museum's exhibition, Life in America–After the Revolution.
The story of how this press came to be associated with Franklin is rather complicated. While in England in 1768, Franklin is said to have visited the Watts firm and saluted the press in the shop where he had worked some 25 years before. A plaque added to the press in 1833 reads:
"Dr. Franklin's Remarks relative to this Press, made when he came to England as agent of Massachusetts, in the year 1768. The Doctor at this time visited the printing office of Mr. Watts, of Wild Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, and going up to this particular press (afterwards in the possession of Messrs. Cox & Son, of Great Queen Street, of whom it was purchased) thus addressed the men who were working at it. 'Come my friends, we will drink together. It is now forty years since I worked like you, at this press, as a journeyman printer.' The Doctor then sent out for a gallon of porter, and he drank with them- "Success to Printing"
Franklin's visit was recalled by elderly printers who testified to the identity of the press three-quarters of a century later. In 1841 the press was presented as "the Franklin press" to American banker John B. Murray, who received it for the express purpose of exhibiting it to attract contributions for the London Printers' Pension Society. He shipped it to the United States to be displayed as a relic associated with Franklin. It was shown at the Patent Office, the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, and the Smithsonian's U.S. National Museum before being sold to the Smithsonian by Murray's widow in 1901.
This logo was launched in 2007 for the first campaign of Democratic candidate Barack Obama. Designed by Sender LLC, the symbol combined a rising sun with the first letter of Obama’s name. The logo was also used for President Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012 and the Obama Foundation which organized in 2014.
Henry Wallace’s path to—and through--national politics was an unusual one. Raised on a farm in Iowa, Wallace edited his family’s agricultural newspaper while his father served as Secretary of Agriculture under two Republicans, Presidents Harding and Coolidge. Differences over farm policies led Wallace to break with the party his family had always supported. He campaigned for Democratic candidate Al Smith in 1928 and endorsed Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. Because of this political work and his reputation in agricultural science and economics, FDR tapped Wallace as his Secretary of Agriculture even though Wallace was still a registered Republican. The youngest member of FDR’s Cabinet, Wallace became, according to economist John Kenneth Galbraith, “second only to Roosevelt as the most important figure of the New Deal.”
Wallace registered as a Democrat in 1936 and four years later was named Roosevelt’s running mate for his third term making Wallace the last vice president to have held no previous elected office. In spite of FDR’s belief in him, Democratic Party leaders continued to see Wallace as an outsider and pushed the president to replace Wallace on the 1944 ticket. When Harry S. Truman became vice president, Roosevelt returned Wallace to the Cabinet as Secretary of Commerce. The last former vice president to serve in a subsequent presidential cabinet, Wallace stayed at Commerce until September 1946 when he became the final FDR Cabinet member to be released by President Truman.
Discouraged by his treatment within the party, Wallace found himself increasingly at odds with Democratic positions particularly in the area of foreign policy. He opposed both the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine and advocated a closer relationship with the Soviet Union. Recognizing that he would not receive the 1948 Democratic presidential nomination, Wallace formed the Progressive Party (unrelated to parties of the same name in 1912 and 1924) and ran for president on the Progressive platform which included policies such as universal health insurance, an end to the Cold War, full voting rights for African Americans, and reparations for those sent to Japanese internment camps. Receiving only 2.4% of the popular vote, Wallace finished fourth in the election behind President Harry Truman (Democrat), Thomas Dewey (Republican), and Strom Thurmond (States’ Rights Democratic). After this defeat, he retired from public life and returned to the study and practice of farming.
This 1996 campaign button featured the last names of President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore spelled using the American Sign Language Alphabet. Clinton and Gore were re-elected, defeating Republicans Bob Dole and Jack Kemp and the Reform Party ticket of Ross Perot and Patrick Chaote.
In 1901, just six months into his term as vice president, Theodore Roosevelt became president upon the assassination of President William McKinley. As the Republican candidate, Roosevelt ran for a full term in 1904 and chose Senator Charles W. Fairbanks of Indiana as his running mate. Roosevelt’s victory over his Democratic challengers Alton Parker and Henry Davis was the first time someone who had ascended to the office upon the death of the president won a term in his own right. Socialist candidates Eugene V. Debs and Benjamin Hanford also ran in 1904, Debs’s second attempt to win the White House.
Franklin D. Roosevelt ran four campaigns as the Democratic candidate for president, winning each time against his Republican opponents. In 1932, he easily defeated the incumbent, President Herbert Hoover. In 1936, he had a landmark victory over Governor Alf Landon of Kansas receiving over 60% of the popular vote. In 1940, FDR made the unprecedented decision to run for a third term. Although he won the election against corporate executive Wendell Willkie, he became only the second president in history to be re-elected with a lower percentage of both the popular and Electoral College votes than he had previously received. Roosevelt’s final victory over Governor Thomas Dewey of New York in 1944 had the lowest total of his four campaigns, just over 53% of the popular vote.
In 1980, Representative John Anderson of Illinois participated in 20 Republican primaries, finishing second in several, before declaring himself an independent candidate for president. Anderson’s National Unity Campaign polled well in the summer (reaching a high of 26%) and he qualified for the ballot in all 50 states. His support declined by November but Anderson’s final total of 6.6% of the popular vote places him seventh on the all-time list of third-party candidates.
These stickers promoted Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts, the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He lost the election to Vice President George H.W. Bush, the Republican candidate. Disposable campaign stickers were first produced in 1968. They were cheaper and easier to manufacture and were more fabric friendly than the traditional pin-back button.
This transfer printed creamware pitcher is decorated with a print of the Joiners' Arms on one side and a motif of "Washington's Tomb" on the other. The crest of “The Joiner’s Arms” features the motto “Join truth with trust,” a shield, and tools of the joiner’s or carpenter’s trade. The motif of Washington’s tomb depicts a monument commemorating Washington’s death surrounded by a chain of states which omits Vermont and Rhode Island, but includes Kentucky. The monument is an obelisk decorated with the All Seeing Eye and the phrase “First in war, first in peace, first in fame, first in virtue.” Various figures are shown mourning at the monument. Under the spout, included in a medallion, is the phrase “May America never want artillery to defend her rights,” a phrase wishing peace upon the new American republic. Below that is the name “Simeon Hall” and a flower. It is currently unclear who Simeon Hall is. George Washington is the most common figure depicted on English creamware pitchers of this period. His death in 1799 led to an outpouring of commemorative products celebrating his life and mourning his death. Robert H. McCauley purchased this pitcher from F.O. Bailey Co. of Portland, ME on May 3, 1939 for $37.50.
This pitcher is part of the McCauley collection of American themed transfer print pottery. There is no mark on the pitcher to tell us who made it, but it is characteristic of wares made in large volume for the American market in both Staffordshire and Liverpool between 1790 and 1820. Pitchers of this shape, with a cream colored glaze over a pale earthenware clay, known as Liverpool type, were the most common vessels to feature transfer prints with subjects commemorating events and significant figures in the early decades of United States’ history. Notwithstanding the tense relationship between Britain and America, Liverpool and Staffordshire printers and potters seized the commercial opportunity offered them in the production of transfer printed earthenwares celebrating the heroes, the military victories, and the virtues of the young republic, and frequently all of these things at once.
The successful presidential campaign of Republican Abraham Lincoln perfected the nighttime torchlight parade as an entertainment of unprecedented scale that attracted the attention of men, women, and children. The concept originated in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1858, and was revived for Lincoln’s campaign by the city’s young Republicans. Tailored oil-resistant enameled cloth capes distinguished the marchers, some of whom were too young to vote. Their example spread from Hartford to cities in the northeastern United States, which contributed traveling companies totaling some ten thousand uniformed men with torches to a Grand Procession in New York City on October 3, 1860. The martial spectacle—including fireworks, Lincoln “Wide Awake” transparencies, and floats—created envy among the city’s Democrats, and panic among southern sympathizers who regarded the torch-lit parade as a provocation. This torch is shaped like a glass ballot jar.
Publications such as John Dickinson’s Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania circulated news and opinion to a growing number of subscribers and to patrons of taverns, which often provided papers for common reading. Even illiterate people could listen and debate current events when someone read aloud to the group.
John W. Davis had a long career in politics, diplomacy, and the law. Following his service as a Representative from West Virginia and U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Davis, a Democrat, ran unsuccessfully for the White House in 1924 losing to President Calvin Coolidge. Over the course of his legal career before and after his presidential campaign, Davis argued 140 cases before the United States Supreme Court. He was best known for his winning argument in the 1952 Youngstown Steel Seizure Case and his final argument defending “separate but equal” schools on the losing side in Briggs v. Elliott, a companion case in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision.
Even though the United States was in the throes of the Great Depression in 1932, President Herbert Hoover produced a variety of items for his re-election campaign that cautioned against change. Voters disagreed with the Republican nominee and turned overwhelmingly to Hoover’s Democratic challenger Franklin D. Roosevelt who won the first of his four terms in the White House.