Campaign Card, 1880

1880 11 02

In the 1880 presidential campaign, the Democratic party ran Winfield Scott Hancock as their presidential candidate. Hancock was seen as an ideal choice, a war hero who fought bravely for the Union at Gettysburg, and even Republicans acknowledged his upstanding reputation. At a time when both parties often used the image of a rooster to indicate their pride and fighting abilities, this card links Hancock’s battlefield bravery to that of a fighting cock. Unfortunately for him, Hancock lost to James Garfield by the smallest popular vote margin in U.S. History.