Baltimore National Convention of Ratification. Clay and the tariff

A crude campaign badge produced for Whig National Convention held at Baltimore in May of 1844. There are two illustrations: above, a sailor with a hammer nails an American flag with the words "HENRY CLAY" to a ship's mast; below is a bust portrait of Clay in an ornamental frame, with the slogan "People's Candidate, Our Country's Hope." The image of the sailor with the flag was commonly used as a nativist emblem. Its appearance here may reflect Whig attempts to appeal to anti-foreigner sentiment among American voters. Mention of the tariff alludes to the party's protectionist platform.

Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1844-2.