Buchanan Campaign Ribbon

This colorful ribbon endorses James Buchanan in his successful 1856 presidential bid. Because of his decades of service at nearly every level of government, Buchanan was seen as a reliable choice for the Democratic party in the mid-1850s, a time of growing sectional conflict over slavery and the emergence of the radical new Republican and American parties. He was not, however, a particularly exciting figure, and so the colorful ribbon and use of the rooster may have been an effort to add a bit of energy to his dry image. Nonetheless, Buchanan defeated both the Republican candidate John C Fremont and the American Party candidate Millard Fillmore.