Ribbon worn by founding members of the Republican Party who had cast ballots for its first two presidential nominees, John Fremont and Abraham Lincoln, c. 1900. Printed silk.
Center, a portrait of Lincoln; above, FREMONT/ LINCOLN; below, Veteran Club; filligree top and bottom.
Many young men were drawn to the newly-formed Republican Party in the mid-1850s, and the unconventional candidacy of Fremont in 1856 was a strong attraction for many more first time voters. Lincoln's election in 1860 established what had been an uncertain alliance of erstwhile Whigs, Free-Soilers and disaffected Democrats as one of the two major political parties to this day. By the turn of the century, those same young men were the party elders, and they would have worn this ribbon as a badge of honor. One or two very minor areas of weakness, otherwise pristine, with great eye appeal. Scarce!
