Skip to main content
Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

Related Content
Topic
Document Type
  • Artifact
Wars & Conflicts
  • Spanish-American War 1898
File Formats
  • Image (gif, jpg, tiff)
Location of Archival Materials
  • NHHC

1900 Presidential Campaign Pin for Admiral George Dewey


Presidential Campaign pin and ribbon Admiral George Dewey

Title: Pin, Presidential Campaignn, Admiral George Dewey, 1900
Accession #: NHHC 2008-56-24
Circa: 1900
Size: 4 x 1.5
Medium: Fabric, Plastic, Paper, Metal
Location: Headquarters Artifact Collection, Naval History and Heritage Command

One George Dewey campaign pin. The pin is paper with a celluloid cover. The obverse pin has a bust of Admiral Dewey with the text "The two most popular people on Earth/Find the other one." Seventeen white stars on a blue field border the top of the pin with six alternating red and white stripes border the bottom of the pin. The reverse of the pin is a metal mirror. The pin is attached to a red, white, and blue ribbon with a pin and clasp brooch with scrollwork on the obverse.

Riding on his popularity following the Spanish-American War, Admiral George Dewey briefly explored a run for President of the United States on the Democratic ticket in 1900. This exploration produced campaign materials like this pin. After a series of missteps in his campaign and support for his candidacy waning, he withdrew from the campaign. Many supporters encouraged the Democratic nominee, William Jennings Bryan, to consider Dewey as his running mate, but Dewey himself opposed the idea. From 1900 until his death in 1917, Admiral Dewey served on the General Board of the United States Navy

If Dewey’s campaign had been successful, he would have been the first in a line of Presidents who had previously served before the mast.


Presidential Campaign pin and ribbon Admiral George Dewey Reverse

Published: Tue May 05 15:03:35 EDT 2020