Campaign Badge

Name/Title

Campaign Badge

Entry/Object ID

1971.46

Description

Part of a campaign badge - probably hung on a ribbon originally. Reads "Taft and Sherman 1908"

Context

According to Encyclopedia Britannica online, "(Outgoing President Theodore) Roosevelt threw his support behind William Howard Taft in early 1907. Taft was Roosevelt’s secretary of war and a trusted adviser, and the two had similar political ideas. Having been handpicked by the president, Taft easily won the Republican nomination on the first ballot when the Republican convention met in June 1908 in Chicago, defeating, among others, Vice Pres. Charles W. Fairbanks , Speaker of the House Joe Cannon , and Sen. Robert La Follette . New York Congressman James S. Sherman was chosen as his running mate." Taft defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan on Nov. 3, 1908 to become President.

Acquisition

Accession

1971.46

Source or Donor

Nelson, Elizabeth G. Walter (1891-1981)

Acquisition Method

Gift

Dimensions

Height

1-1/2 in

Length

1-1/2 in

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Taft, William Howard (1857-1930)

Person or Organization

Sherman, James Schoolcraft (1855-1912)