The Role of Flags in American Elections: A Historical Overview

Throughout every presidential election cycle, voters proudly display campaign flags to show support for their chosen candidate. But where did this tradition begin? The story of election flags stretches back to 1800, beginning with an unexpected twist—the first flag wasn’t made to rally support before an election but was crafted after the president had already taken office. As the years unfolded, campaign flags evolved, with unique designs like those used for Abraham Lincoln’s election, each telling its own story about the time and its people.

The First US Election Flag

Today, flags are predominantly used to show support for a political candidate in the run-up to the election. However, some of the first election flags in the US were not used during campaigns but after a president had been elected.

One of the earliest surviving flags produced specifically for a presidential election is the ‘Jefferson Banner.’ This flag was created following Thomas Jefferson’s victory over John Adams in 1800.

The banner depicts a portrait of Jefferson below an eagle, carrying a streamer with the text "T. Jefferson President of the United States of America / John Adams is no more." This flag represented not only Jefferson’s election but a shift in American politics as a whole. Until 1800, the US government had been largely managed by the Federalist Party. Jefferson’s election brought his own faction into power, the Democratic-Republican Party.

The First Presidential Campaign Flag

Despite the use of the Jefferson Banner following the presidential election in 1800, political flags remained relatively underused for the next few decades. The first campaign flag did not appear until 1840, when William Henry Harrison ran for president.

Early presidential campaigns were very different from those today. Candidates were not expected to campaign, hold rallies, or deliver speeches. This all changed in 1839 when Harrison accepted his nomination as presidential candidate. His party, the Whigs, began to produce political memorabilia and propaganda and coordinated local outreach to potential voters.

One of the most prominent ways the Whigs were able to draw attention was with banners, thereby creating the first US presidential campaign flags. Various designs were used, but many shared the same characteristics as the one pictured above: Harrison’s portrait on a historical American flag, above one of his slogans, “The Hero of Tippecanoe”.

Harrison’s campaign, which also included large-scale rallies and speeches, was wildly successful, and he was elected as the 9th US president.

Abraham Lincoln's 1860 and 1864 Campaign Flags

Others soon adopted the use of political campaign flags and other memorabilia in their presidential campaigns following Harrison’s term. Some famous examples are Abraham Lincoln’s campaign flags, used in 1860 and 1864. These flags were produced alongside sheet music, banners, and political cartoons promoting Lincoln’s candidacy.

One of Lincoln’s first election flags featured a unique canton with a portrait surrounded by 33 stars. The 1860 campaign flag was intended to be hung vertically so that the portrait’s orientation would appear correct to observers. On the white stripes are the names of Lincoln and his running mate, Hannibal Hamlin. In order to fit the text into the design, the printer chose to shorten ‘Abraham’ to ‘Abram’.

As with all early American flags, designs were not standardized, and many variations of the Abraham Lincoln campaign flag were available. Most designs used the base of the American flag, added text to the stripes, and changed the arrangement of the stars in the canton. However, one of the flags used for Lincoln’s re-election in 1864 features one of the most striking choices of star placement.

One of Abraham Lincoln’s 1864 re-election campaign flags spelled out the word “FREE” using 35 stars in the canton, promoting Lincoln’s anti-slavery platform. The additional star in the bottom left corner represents Nevada, which would not join the Union until October 31st, 1864.

Flagmakers over the years continued to make designs as they wished, until the widespread practice of moving the stars around the canton was stopped in 1912 by President Taft’s standardization of the US flag.

Modern Presidential Campaign Flags

It’s been almost 200 years since William Henry Harrison’s presidential campaign, yet flags have remained a crucial part of political advertising and showing support for your chosen candidate. However, modern political flags no longer use the American flag as a base, since placing text and images on the American flag is now disallowed under the US Flag Code.

Campaign flags have become simpler in design, often featuring the candidate’s and running mate’s names in block letters, the election year, stars and stripes, and the colors red, white, and blue. The same remains true for the 2024 election flags, which you can see on the campaign flags of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Next time you see a neighbor’s candidate flag, you’ll know the vast history behind this patriotic tradition.