1900 William J Bryan campaign pin

Well, I guess there's nothing like killing off what little readership I have after over a week off than to post a presidential pin but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

This one comes from the 1900 campaign of Williams Jennings Bryan who ran as a Democrat-Populist against William McKinley. Pictured on this jugate with Bryan is his running-mate, Adlai Stevenson I. McKinley won in decisive fashion but was assassinated in 1901 and succeeded by his VP Teddy Roosevelt. It serves as a nice companion piece to my McKinley-Roosevelt pin from that same year.

The paper backing gives a manufacturing date of 1896 which is curious because Bryan was also the Democratic nominee that year against McKinley. But his running mate was Arthur Sewell. I suspect that the company (Whitehead and Hoag, Newark, NJ) reused the paper backs from the 1896 buttons on these Bryan/Stevenson buttons four years later.

The turn of the century was an amazing time in America and I can't read enough about it. There is also a lot of historical fiction set in that era and I read quite a bit of that, too.

Prosperity At Home, Prestige Abroad

This is my latest, oldest and definitely coolest Presidential campaign button. It's from 1900 and features Republican candidates William McKinley and Teddy Roosevelt. They defeated the Democratic ticket headed by Williams Jennings Bryan. I've seen it for sale for upwards of $75 but I got this one for $30 shipped. It looks better in person than it does in my scan.

McKinley defeated Bryan in 1896 and the two met again in 1900. McKinley and Roosevelt won that election but in September of 1901 McKinley was assassinated and Teddy took the Presidency. I don't really know a whole lot about McKinley but Teddy Roosevelt was one bad ass dude. Lots has been written about him but I can recommend two books that I've read: The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris and River of Doubt by Candice Miller. That one is especially good. It's the story of Roosevelt's exploration of the Amazon. You can get them both dirt cheap on Amazon.

There is a famous campaign poster from McKinley's 1900 campaign that features the same slogan as the button.

I've picked up lots of campaign buttons in the last few months. It has sure cut into my card budget!