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Primary sourceArtifact1864

Presidential Campaign Medal with Portraits of Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson

1864

An 1864 campaign medal made for the Lincoln-Johnson presidential ticket, pairing the two men as running mates.

This 1864 campaign medal promoted Johnson as Lincoln's vice-presidential running mate.

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Photograph of a round gold-toned medal on a white background, with a loop at the top. The rim reads 'FOR PRESIDENT' with '1864' at the bottom and laurel-like decoration on the sides. The central oval holds a sepia portrait of a bearded man in a suit and bow tie, labeled 'A. LINCOLN'. Only this side is visible.
Presidential campaign medal with portraits of Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, 1864. Metropolitan Museum of Art.

About this source

What it is

This is a round gold-toned campaign medal or badge from 1864, held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It bears a portrait of Abraham Lincoln labeled 'A. LINCOLN,' with the words 'FOR PRESIDENT' and the date 1864 around the rim.

Why it matters

The medal was made to promote the 1864 National Union ticket of Lincoln for president and Andrew Johnson, a Southern Democrat, for vice president. This pairing was meant to send a message of unity between Northern Republicans and pro-Union Southern Democrats during the Civil War. Objects like this show how political campaigns used small, wearable items to spread candidates' images and messages.

Look closer

  • Why might campaign organizers have chosen a Southern Democrat as Lincoln's running mate in 1864?
  • What does the design of the medal tell you about how campaigns tried to win public support?
  • Only one side of the medal is described here — what might the other side show?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Andrew Johnson on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Photograph of President Andrew Johnson

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