The Campaign of 1864
In early June 1864, the National Union Party, a temporary coalition of Republicans and War Democrats (who had split from the anti-war Democratic Party) met in convention at Baltimore and nominated Abraham Lincoln for a second term as president and Andrew Johnson, a Democrat and military governor of Tennessee, for the vice presidency. The 1860 invention of the economical tintype photographic process opened the door for candidates’ images to appear on campaign buttons for the first time. The other button on display promoted Lincoln’s opponent, George B. McClellan, who ran on the Democratic Party’s “peace party platform.” The African American soldier seated with his family (on the left) wears an 1864 Lincoln campaign button on the lapel of his jacket. It would be another six years before the Fifteenth Amendment gave African American males the right to vote.
In early June 1864, the National Union Party, a temporary coalition of Republicans and War Democrats (who had split from the anti-war Democratic Party) met in convention at Baltimore and nominated Abraham Lincoln for a second term as president and Andrew Johnson, a Democrat and military governor of Tennessee, for the vice presidency. The 1860 invention of the economical tintype photographic process opened the door for candidates’ images to appear on campaign buttons for the first time. The other button on display promoted Lincoln’s opponent, George B. McClellan, who ran on the Democratic Party’s “peace party platform.” The African American soldier seated with his family (<em>on the left</em>) wears an 1864 Lincoln campaign button on the lapel of his jacket. It would be another six years before the Fifteenth Amendment gave African American males the right to vote.