Election Ephemera, the Material Culture of Political Campaigns
During presidential and state election campaigns, a large amount of ephemera is produced to market candidates. These materials include printed posters and flyers, buttons, clothing, banners, and flags, as well as songs composed in honor of candidates and even election-inspired recipes. Before the advent of television advertisements geared at mass audiences, the most common campaign advertisements were leaflets distributed during events and gatherings. Campaign buttons, which have proved more durable, emerged in the early 19th century and have been an integral part of American political campaigns and social activism ever since.
As the use of automobiles increased in the mid-20th century, bumper stickers became a common political marketing tool. Made with self-adhesives that allowed the stickers to be affixed to a car, bumper stickers provided an easy way to share one’s politics during a drive to work or the store.
Taken together, these items have played an important role in political communication and marketing and served as methods of civic participation and activism. Their production has evolved overtime due to changes in technology, the availability of inexpensive materials and manufacturers, and copyright regulations. The artifacts in this section capture sensibilities and aesthetics of specific moments in history, documenting how material culture has been used to communicate affinities among politicians, activists, and citizens. As you make your way through, consider: what materials from a political campaign are likely to captivate your attention? Why?
Clay & Frelinghuysen campaign flag, 1844
Presidential campaign flag for Whig party candidates Henry Clay, candidate for United States president, and Theodore Frelinghuysen, candidate for United States Vice president, 1844.
This flag contains 26 stars circling an image of 1844 Whig party presidential candidate, Henry Clay. Presidential campaign flags were popular in the nineteenth and early-twentieth century and were often designed to look like the American flag. Clay and the candidate for vice president, New Jersey native Theodore Frelinghuysen, lost to Democratic candidates James K. Polk and George M. Dallas. The Whig party ran on a platform of national finance and internal improvements (ie. infrastructure) with Clay being a Southern slaveholder and Frelinghuysen being a "Christian Statesman" who advocated for the colonization movement. While Democratic party candidate Polk was also a slaveholder, the party's platform on states rights platform won in the end. You can read the nominating resolutions Whig party and Democratic party.
--Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives, Framed Items Collection; Contributor: Tara Maharjan
Margaret Haines and her Votes for Women Sash, circa 1914-1916
A sash, a long piece of fabric that drapes from one shoulder to the opposing hip, was the accessory of choice of women in suffrage movement. It enhanced the femininity of women activists and served to reassure detractors and critics who expressed concern that women would become “masculine.” The words “Votes for Women” was one of the most recognizable slogans used by the members of the women’s suffrage movement, who wore sashes to rallies, lectures and parades, asserting their allegiance. This suffrage sash belonged to Newark native, Margaret D. Haines (1884–1966), a member of the Women’s Political Union of New Jersey. You can read more about how the history of the sash has changed over time here.
-- Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives - Ross-Haines-King Family Papers, MC 929; Contributor: Tara Maharjan
New Jersey’s first published cookbook, Economical Cookery: Designed to Assist the Housekeeper in Retrenching Her Expenses, by the Exclusion of Spiritous Liquors from Her Cookery (ca. 1839), was written by an anonymous author who urged women to take an active part in the Temperance Movement by eliminating liquors from their cooking. Within this book is a recipe for election cake, a recipe that dates back to 1700s. Election cakes were often an alcohol filled fruit cake brought to voting sites to help encourage people to vote a particular way. A further history of election cake can be found here.
--"Economical Cookery," 1839. Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives - Rare Book Collection; Contributor: Tara Maharjan
Ike Socks, ca. 1948
Grey knit socks with blue writing with the word “Ike” stitched in support of Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1948 campaign for U.S. president.
--Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives - Museum Objects Collection; Contributor: Tara Maharjan
Shirley Chisholm Political Ephemera, 1972
Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to the United States Congress. In 1972, Chisholm became the first African American candidate for a major party's nomination for President of the United States, and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. Chisholm lost the nomination to George McGovern, only receiving votes from four of the 109 New Jersey delegates. These political buttons and bumper stickers are from her presidential campaign.
-- Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives - Shirley Chisholm Papers, MC 1194; Contributor: Tara Maharjan
Florio's Cereal Box, 1989
The race for Democratic Party nomination of New Jersey governor election heated up in 1989 when Assemblyman Alan J. Karcher devised a creative marketing plan. He custom-made and mailed fake cereal boxes called “Florio's, the Breakfast of Special Interest” to 300,000 households. Karcher lost the Democratic Party nomination to James J. Florio, who went on to win the election and served as governor from 1990 to 1994.
--Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives - GB Collection; Contributor: Tara Maharjan
Political Bumper Stickers
Much like political buttons, political bumper stickers are used to show support for a candidate or movement. Political bumper stickers date back to the 1950s. Futher reading about bumper stickers. Questions to consider: Do you believe that the rise of social media has led to the fall in the popularity of buttons? What similarities can be drawn between the bumper stickers here and Photograph of Suffragist Eva Ward from the June 3, 1915, Bridgeton Pioneer seen elsewhere in this exhibit?
--Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives - GB Collection; Contributor: Tara Maharjan
Political Buttons
Political buttons and pins have a long history of use, with pins being worn by supporters of George Washington. Buttons can show support for a candidate or a movement. The mass production of buttons and pins began in 1896 with the patenting of celluloid buttons by the Whitehead and Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey. You can read more about the history of campaign buttons and see additional political buttons. Questions to consider: Are buttons still a popular and effective way to show political support? Have other mediums for support overtaken the historical popularity of buttons and pins?
--Rutgers Special Collections and University Archives - Erena Rae Papers and the Museum Object Collection; Contributor: Tara Maharjan
