Vigo County Historical Society

Historical Treasure Article

Historic Treasure of the Week - November 4, 1984
By Dorothy Frey
Vigo County Historical Society

Candidates used flags in campaigns

Today's historical treasure, a campaign flag banner, is from the 1884 presidential campaign.

Candidates that year were Grover Cleveland, Democrat, and James G. Blaine, Republican.

Flag banners ranged in size form 12 inches by 18 inches to 48 inches by 24 inches. They were usually copies of the national flag, but with an incorrect number of stars. Most had a picture of the candidate superimposed on the field. Because they were essentially political advertising they were considered "a defacing of our flag" and outlawed by Congress by the turn of the century.

This flag depicts James Gillespie Blaine, 1830-1893. It is 23 inches by 15 inches. with fix white stripes and seven red stripes. It is made of silk and had 38 stars surrounding Blaine's portrait.

Blaine became a state legislator after moving to Augusta, Maine, around 1859. He then served in Congress and was Speaker of the House form 1869 to 1875. He was a hopeful candidate for the presidential nomination in 1876 and again in 1880, but failed to secure the nomination.

In 1881 he was appointed Secretary of State to President Garfield. This led to his nomination for presidential candidate in the 1884 election. His vice presidential candidate was John A. Logan of Illinois. They were both nominated on the fourth ballot of the convention.

Blaine received 182 electoral votes and some 4.5 million popular votes but was defeated by Cleveland. This makes this flag banner more desirable to collectors, because memorabilia from campaign losers tends to be forgotten or lost.

James Blaine, although he never became president, was a notable statesman. He supported Benjamin Harrison in the 1888 campaign and was again appointed Secretary of State. He was one of the first to favor Hawaiian annexation.

This flag banner, along with other political Americana is on display in the Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St. The museum is open from 1 to 4 Sunday through Friday.