Congressional Campaign Ribbons

Many textiles survive from presidential campaigns of the 19th and 20th centuries. Far fewer from congressional campaigns are extant. This paper will present a survey of campaign ribbons in the collection of the U.S. House of Representatives, and the use of textiles in 19th century congressional campaigns. Discussion of the role of ribbons in political campaigns, particularly as they relate to the more durable campaign buttons and pinbacks, will be pursued. Iconography and text commonly used in ribbons will also be discussed, as well as proposed reasons for their greater prevalence in national campaigns