National American Fillmore and Donelson Ticket Linen Broadside
Pennsylvania, 1856
Linen broadside, 17½ x 10 inches
 
A rare linen campaign broadside titled “National American Fillmore and Donelson Ticket,” issued in Pennsylvania during the presidential election of 1856. Printed in bold display type, the sheet promotes the American Party—commonly known as the Know-Nothing Party—ticket of Millard Fillmore for president and Andrew J. Donelson for vice president. The broadside prominently lists the party’s electors, including senatorial electors Joseph R. Ingersoll and Andrew Stewart, followed by a full slate of pledged electors beneath.
 
Rather than a disposable polling ballot, examples printed on linen were likely intended for campaign display or for public reference, allowing voters to familiarize themselves with the names of the electors supporting the Fillmore ticket. The format reflects the practical mechanics of mid-nineteenth-century elections, when party organizations often printed and distributed their own ballots and promotional materials in advance of voting.
 
The American Party emerged during the turbulent political realignment of the 1850s, drawing support from nativist and anti-immigration sentiment amid the collapse of the Whig Party and the rise of the Republican Party. Fillmore, the last Whig president, accepted the party’s nomination in 1856 in an effort to unify conservative elements within this shifting political landscape. Although he ultimately finished third behind James Buchanan and John C. Frémont, the campaign represents one of the most significant third-party efforts of the era.
 
Condition: Very good, with light toning and minor wear consistent with age.