1856: James Buchanan

In one line: a three-way contest between Buchanan (Democratic), Frémont (Republican) and Fillmore (American, or Know Nothing), won by Buchanan, with nine campaign banners and cartoon prints, three for each candidate.

Context

James Buchanan, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, won 174 of 296 electoral votes. John C. Frémont, the Republican candidate, received 114, and Millard Fillmore, listed by the National Archives as Whig-American, received 8 [1]. The American Presidency Project records the popular vote as Buchanan 1,836,072 (45.3%), Frémont 1,342,345 (33.1%) and Fillmore 873,053 (21.6%) [2]. Frémont's electoral votes came from northern states, and Fillmore's from Maryland alone [1].

Reference works describe the main issue as the expansion of slavery into the territories after the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, with the American Party also stressing opposition to Catholic immigration [3]. The objects catalogued here are woodcut and lithographed banners and cartoon prints published as sheets, several by Nathaniel Currier of New York.

Campaign literature

Candidate (party)	Objects in the archive
James Buchanan (Democratic)	3
John C. Frémont (Republican)	3
Millard Fillmore (American)	3

Each candidate has three objects, so no side is under-represented in the count. Several are cartoons that attack one rival while favouring another; each is placed under the candidate it favours.

James Buchanan (Democratic)

• James Buchanan campaign banner (Baker & Godwin, 1856) (poster, 1856-06): a woodcut banner showing Buchanan's head and shoulders between bundles of flags and olive sprigs, captioned "Democratic candidate for President of the United States".
• "'Buck' taking the 'Pot'" (Currier, 1856) (cartoon, 1856): a card-game cartoon in which Buchanan, holding four aces and a cauldron of "Union Soup", claims the winnings while Frémont lies tripped on a "Rock of Disunion" and Fillmore concedes. Its date is unsettled: LOC gives only "1856", and the speeches are in victory tense, so it may be a post-election print.
• "The Grand National Fight" (Democratic print, 1856) (cartoon, 1856): a boxing-ring cartoon in which a standing Buchanan has floored Fillmore and squares off against Frémont, whose backer calls him "wooly Hoss". LOC dates it only "1856", and the bout is billed for 6 November, two days after the election.

John C. Frémont (Republican)

• "The Champions of Freedom" Frémont and Dayton banner (Buffalo, 1856) (poster, 1856): a lithographed ticket banner with oval portraits of Frémont and Dayton under an eagle, flags and shield, titled "The Champions of Freedom".
• "Col. Fremont Planting the American Standard" (Baker & Godwin, 1856) (poster, 1856-07): a woodcut banner of a bearded Frémont on a peak planting the American flag, with an eagle overhead and two frontiersmen cheering below.
• "The Balls Are Rolling - Clear the Track" (Currier, 1856) (cartoon, 1856): giant balls named for northern and western states roll over a crushed Buchanan and a Fillmore, under a rainbow reading "Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Press, Free Men & Fremont".

Millard Fillmore (American)

• Millard Fillmore campaign banner (Baker & Godwin, 1856) (poster, 1856-07): a woodcut banner with Fillmore's portrait in a roundel under an eagle, flanked by Justice and Liberty over a scroll marked "The Union".
• "The Great Presidential Sweepstakes of 1856" (Currier) (cartoon, 1856): a horse-race cartoon with Fillmore's carriage leading toward the White House while Buchanan and Frémont lag, the latter's cart stuck in an "Abolition Cess Pool"; the Library of Congress calls it a nativist view of the campaign.
• "The Right Man for the Right Place" (Currier, 1856) (cartoon, 1856): Fillmore stands between an armed Frémont and a dagger-wielding Buchanan and holds back both, each rival made to call the other a violent label.

Techniques visible

The same definitions apply to every candidate. Each list below is generated from the techniques tags in the entries.

• Name-calling: Buchanan ("'Buck' taking the 'Pot'" (Currier, 1856), "The Grand National Fight" (Democratic print, 1856)); Frémont ("The Balls Are Rolling - Clear the Track" (Currier, 1856)); Fillmore ("The Great Presidential Sweepstakes of 1856" (Currier), "The Right Man for the Right Place" (Currier, 1856)). 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.
• Transfer: Buchanan (James Buchanan campaign banner (Baker & Godwin, 1856)); Frémont ("The Champions of Freedom" Frémont and Dayton banner (Buffalo, 1856), "Col. Fremont Planting the American Standard" (Baker & Godwin, 1856), "The Balls Are Rolling - Clear the Track" (Currier, 1856)); Fillmore (Millard Fillmore campaign banner (Baker & Godwin, 1856)). The tell is the same for each: the standing of a person, place, symbol or event is attached to a candidate.
• Bandwagon: Buchanan ("'Buck' taking the 'Pot'" (Currier, 1856), "The Grand National Fight" (Democratic print, 1856)); Frémont ("The Balls Are Rolling - Clear the Track" (Currier, 1856)); Fillmore ("The Great Presidential Sweepstakes of 1856" (Currier)). The tell is the same for each: a slogan, verse or picture announcing that the candidate is winning or that others are joining.
• Glittering generalities: Buchanan ("'Buck' taking the 'Pot'" (Currier, 1856)); Frémont ("The Champions of Freedom" Frémont and Dayton banner (Buffalo, 1856), "The Balls Are Rolling - Clear the Track" (Currier, 1856)). The tell is the same for each: virtue words offered with no testable claim.
• Bothsidesism: Fillmore ("The Right Man for the Right Place" (Currier, 1856)). The tell is the same for each: two rivals drawn as matched opponents so that the third appears the only alternative.

Sources

1. National Archives, "Electoral College: 1856 Election", https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/1856
2. American Presidency Project, "1856", https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/elections/1856
3. Wikipedia, "1856 United States presidential election" (cross-check only), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1856_United_States_presidential_election
4. Library of Congress records: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003689274/ · https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2008661588/ · https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2008661584/ · https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003689272/ · https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003689276/ · https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/90708912/ · https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003689273/ · https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004665353/ · https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2001703986/