- When
- 1852
In one line: the Democrat Franklin Pierce beat the Whig Winfield Scott, with the Free Soil candidate John P. Hale also running, and this page holds seven satirical prints, only one firmly placed on a side, and none for Hale.
Context
Pierce (Democratic) won 254 electoral votes and Scott (Whig) 42; Hale (Free Soil) won none [1]. The popular vote was Pierce 1,607,510 (50.8%), Scott 1,386,942 (43.9%) and Hale 155,210 (4.9%) [2].
Wikipedia's cross-check summary says Pierce won the Democratic nomination as a dark horse on the 49th ballot, that Scott beat Millard Fillmore for the Whig nomination on the 53rd, that the Whigs were divided over the Compromise of 1850, and that with few policy differences between the major candidates the contest became one of personalities [3]. All seven objects held here are lithographed satirical prints.
Campaign literature
| Candidate (party) | Objects in the archive |
|---|---|
| Franklin Pierce (Democratic) | 2 (placed by whom they mock; publisher allegiance unstated) |
| Winfield Scott (Whig) | 2 (1 placed by LOC as pro-Whig; 1 placed by whom it mocks) |
| John P. Hale (Free Soil) | 0 |
| Not assigned to a candidate | 3 |
Pierce and Scott each have two objects. Only the Whig "game-cock" print is firmly placed, by LOC's description of it as pro-Whig. "Gas and glory", "The poor soldier" and "The Whig Organ" are placed by whom they mock, and the publisher's allegiance is not stated for any of them. Three prints mock several candidates or none and count for no side. No Hale item was found.
Franklin Pierce (Democratic)
- "The poor soldier & his ticket for soup" (Yankee Notions lithograph, 1852) (print, 1852): Scott in a tattered uniform holds out his cap at the Capitol, with the White House relabelled "SOUP HOUSE"; it mocks only Scott, so it is placed on the Pierce side by inference.
- "The Whig Organ" (Frank Bellew, The Lantern, 28 August 1852) (print, 1852): an organ-grinder labelled "TRIBUNE" turns an organ marked "Battle of Chapultepec" while a monkey in a general's hat points; it mocks only Scott and the Whig press, so it is placed by inference.
Winfield Scott (Whig)
- "The game-cock & the goose" (Yankee Notions lithograph, 1852) (print, 1852): Scott rides a fighting cock ahead of Pierce on a goose who cries "I shall Faint"; LOC describes it as pro-Whig.
- "Gas and glory" (Currier lithograph, 1852) (print, 1852): two framed scenes set Pierce's swagger before New Hampshire militia against his holding his stomach in Mexico; it mocks only Pierce, so it is placed by benefit.
John P. Hale (Free Soil)
No Hale object is catalogued.
Not assigned to a candidate
- "Great footrace for the presidential purse ($100,000 and pickings) over the Union Course 1852" (Currier lithograph) (print, 1852): Webster, Scott and Pierce run a footrace for the presidency while a crowd comments in speech boxes, some in exaggerated Irish and German dialect; each runner is mocked in turn.
- "Position of the Democratic Party in 1852" (anti-Pierce, anti-Fugitive-Slave-Law print) (print, 1852): Pierce lies on the "Baltimore Platform" before a whip-bearing "Slave holder & Peace maker" while a devil cheers; it attacks Pierce and the platform but names no alternative candidate.
- "Soliciting a vote" (1852 campaign cartoon, drawn before the Democratic nomination) (print, 1852): Webster, Houston, Douglas and Scott crowd a voter, each pressing his ticket; it predates Pierce's nomination and does not show him.
Techniques visible
The same definitions apply to every candidate. Each list below is generated from the techniques tags in the entries.
- Name-calling: Pierce ("The poor soldier & his ticket for soup" (Yankee Notions lithograph, 1852), "The Whig Organ" (Frank Bellew, The Lantern, 28 August 1852)); Scott ("The game-cock & the goose" (Yankee Notions lithograph, 1852), "Gas and glory" (Currier lithograph, 1852)); unassigned ("Great footrace for the presidential purse ($100,000 and pickings) over the Union Course 1852" (Currier lithograph), "Position of the Democratic Party in 1852" (anti-Pierce, anti-Fugitive-Slave-Law print)). The tell is the same for each: a derisive or loaded label, animal or ethnic image attached to a candidate, his backers or his opponents in place of an argument.
- Glittering generalities: unassigned ("Soliciting a vote" (1852 campaign cartoon, drawn before the Democratic nomination)). The tell is the same for each: virtue words offered with no testable claim.
- Transfer: unassigned ("Position of the Democratic Party in 1852" (anti-Pierce, anti-Fugitive-Slave-Law print)). The tell is the same for each: the standing of a person, place, symbol or event is attached to a candidate.
One standard for card-stacking: it is tagged only where the object itself presents selected one-sided claims or incidents, for any side; a slogan, a price or a single satirical contrast is not tagged.
Sources
- National Archives, "Electoral College: 1852 Election", https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/1852
- American Presidency Project, "1852", https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/elections/1852
- Wikipedia, "1852 United States presidential election" (cross-check only), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1852_United_States_presidential_election
- LOC records, https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ followed by: 2008661549 (poor soldier), 2022653490 (Whig Organ), 2008661550 (game-cock), 2008661552 (gas and glory), 2001704274 (footrace), 2008661555 (platform), 2008661542 (soliciting a vote).