William McKinley Portrait Campaign Button

威廉·麥金利個人像競選鈕扣

Item number: M220

Year: AD 1896

Size: 21.4 x 21.4 x 5.4 mm

Weight: 2.0 g

Provenance: Butternut Grove Antiques 2024

This is a campaign button from AD 1896, supporting William McKinley, the Republican candidate for the 25th President of the United States. It was provided for supporters to wear.

The obverse side of the button features a black-and-white photograph of McKinley, with his name “Mc. Kinley” printed on his suit collar. The reverse side of the button is engraved with “SWEET CAPORAL CIGARETTE,” a brand under the American Tobacco Company, which sponsored the campaign. Like modern elections, companies would sponsor favored candidates to build political and economic relationships and simultaneously advertise their products. The reverse side of the button also includes a pin for fastening.

Starting in AD 1873, the United States experienced debates surrounding the Coinage Act, specifically regarding the fixed ratio of gold to silver and the minting of silver coins. Meanwhile, European countries, led by the United Kingdom, were establishing the gold standard. The controversy over whether the United States should adopt the gold standard or the silver standard became a pivotal issue in the AD 1896 election for the 25th President.

Republican candidate William McKinley, a lawyer by profession, was supported by Wall Street magnates and campaigned under the slogan “The dollar should be as sacred as gold,” advocating for the gold standard. His opponent, Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan, represented the farmers’ interests and called for the circulation of silver with the rallying cry, “You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.” In the end, McKinley won the election with 270 electoral votes to Bryan’s 163, becoming the 25th President of the United States.

In addition to establishing the gold standard, McKinley’s presidency saw the Spanish-American War, which expanded the United States’ overseas colonies. In AD 1900, McKinley was successfully re-elected. However, on September 6, AD 1901, while visiting the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, McKinley was shot at close range by an anarchist with a revolver. He succumbed to his injuries a week later, dying at his home at the age of 58. McKinley became the second U.S. president to be assassinated, after Lincoln. This incident led to the U.S. Secret Service, initially tasked with combating counterfeiting, taking on the responsibility of protecting the President and Vice President.

物件編號: M220

年代: 公元 1896 年

尺寸: 21.4 x 21.4 x 5.4 mm

重量: 2.0 g

來源: 胡桃林古董 2024

這是一枚公元1896年,代表共和黨參選美國第25任總統的威廉·麥金利,提供給支持者配戴的競選鈕扣。

鈕扣正面印有麥金利的黑白照片,西裝領口處打印他的名字「Mc. Kinley」。鈕扣背面則鐫刻著「SWEET CAPORAL CIGARETTE」(甜蜜下士香菸),即為贊助商「美國菸草公司」轄下的香菸品牌。如同今日的選舉,廠商會贊助偏好的參選人建立政經關係和順勢替商品打廣告。鈕扣背面尚有一個固定用的別針。

公元1873年起,美國發生圍繞《鑄幣法案》關於金銀固定比價和能否鑄造銀幣的爭議。同時在國外,以英國為首的歐洲國家陸續確立金本位制度。關於美國該師從金本位或銀本位的爭議,就成為公元1896年第25任總統大選的關鍵議題。

律師出身的共和黨參選人麥金利,背後擁有華爾街巨擘的支持,提出「美元應當和黃金一樣神聖」採納金本位的口號。競爭者民主黨參選人威廉·布萊恩則站在農民立場,呼籲「不該將人類釘死在黃金十字架上」支持白銀流通。最終的選舉結果,麥金利以270票勝過布萊恩163票,成為美國第25任總統。

麥金利確立金本位制度外,任內發生美西戰爭擴張美國的海外殖民地。公元1900年,麥金利成功連任。然而公元1901年9月6日,麥金利在水牛城參訪泛美博覽會時,遭到無政府主義者近距離以左輪手槍刺殺,一星期後重傷的麥金利在自宅過世,享年58歲。麥金利成為繼林肯後,第二位遭刺殺的美國總統,此事也促成財政部轄下,原為追緝假鈔的美國特勤局肩負保護正副總統的任務。

類似/相同物件 請看:

美國 麥金利總統圖書館暨博物館 McKinley Presidential Library and Museum

https://mckinleymuseum.org/

美國 國家歷史博物館 National Museum of American History

https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/nmah_1829977

更多相關訊息請參考:

https://www.britannica.com/event/Cross-of-Gold-speech

陳雨露、楊棟,《世界金融大歷史3000年:從古希臘城邦經濟到華爾街金錢遊戲》(台北市:野人文化出版社,2019)

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