Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Political Banner for Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)
1912
Maker not marked
USA
Lithograph on silk
overall: 17"h s 26-1/2"w; frame: 19-3/8"h x 29-3/8"w;
Gift of Robert A. Frank
2001.067.36

Political campaign banner for Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919); repeated legend reads "National Progressive / TR / 1912"; red background with blue line rectangle and blue circle in center, white lettering, hat, bears, sticks, and bull moose heads; wooden frame with glass.

Despite his vow not to run for a third term in 1908, Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) did run for president in 1912 on the Progressive Party ticket. The campaign textiles waved by his supporters show a number of well-known Roosevelt emblems: a stick, recalling his fondness for the proverb, "Walk softly and carry a big stick"; the elderly bear that he famously spared on a big game hunt; and his glasses, grin and cowboy hat. The 1912 field also included Democrat Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) and incumbent Republican president William H. Taft (1857-1930). Wilson won the race over Roosevelt, with Taft placing a distant third.