Young America polka - Lithograph, public domain, Library of Congress

Sheet music cover for a polka by P. H. Vanderweide, "Dedicated to Capt. Ingraham." Capt. Duncan Nathaniel Ingraham became a popular hero when he interceded with the Turkish government on behalf of Hungarian freedom-fighter Martin Koszta in 1853, following the Hungarian revolt. "Young America" was the name adopted by the liberal, expansionist movement within the Democratic party that was sympathetic to nationalist and republican movements in Europe. Here a young sailor has climbed a flagpole and nails the stars and stripes to it. There is a Phrygian cap on top of the staff and a harbor visible in the background. The image often appears in a nativist context, on songs and other campaign materials, during the 1850s.
Entered . . . 1853 by T.S. Berry.
Lith. of Sarony & Co.
New York. Published by T.S. Berry . . . Philadelphia, J.E. Gould. Boston, Oliver Ditson. New Haven, Skinner & Sperry.
Title appears as it is written on the item.
Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1853-2.