Presidents' Cockades

When people think of Presidents Day, there are often two presidents that first come to mind: Lincoln and Washington. I’m going to end with Washington, so let’s start with Lincoln.

Love him or hate him, he had a huge influence on American history. Under his presidency, we saw America’s most deadly war (over 600,000 casualties) with some of America’s most gifted generals. We also saw the birth of such good causes as the American Red Cross and the beginning of the process to abolish of slavery. Federal government grew massively with the introduction of drafts, income taxes, and nationwide censorship of newspapers, telegraphs, etc. Many great strides were made in the areas of technology and medicine as the needs of war accelerated the pace of scientific accomplishments.

Whether he fully lived up to them or not, you have to admit that Lincoln had a gift for brilliant speeches on what it means to be a free American. We can all agree with the sentiment that “...we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

I’m tickled that I was finally able to add a Lincoln mourning cockade to my collection! Isn’t it beautiful?

It’s tough to put Teddy Roosevelt’s life - or even his presidency - into a paragraph. Roosevelt was an amazing, larger-than-life American hero. A sickly child, he took his father’s advice to “make his body” into a tough-as-leather naturalist and sportsman. But his interests became far more wide and varied than that.

While still in college, he wrote a definitive naval history of the War of 1812. Other accomplishments included running a ranch in North Dakota, cleaning up corruption in both the NY City police and the US Civil Service Commission, serving as assistant Secretary of the Navy and Vice President to President William McKinley.

He formed the “Rough Riders” during the Spanish American war and led them in a glorious charge on San Juan hill. He is distinguished in being one of the four presidents on Mount Rushmore.

After McKinley’s assassination, he finished the term as President and was reelected for his own term in 1904. That’s the campaign this cockade is from.

I bet you didn’t know that campaign cockades were still being used in the 1970s! This one is from Jimmy Carter’s campaign in 1977.

Carter had served as both Senator and Governor from Georgia before his presidential run. His single-term presidency was plagued with issues like economic recession, the Cold War, an energy crisis and the Iran hostage crisis.

People who admire Carter’s legacy generally point to his social work around the world after his presidency. On January 20, 2017, at age 92, Carter became the oldest president to attend a presidential inauguration. He is also the first president to live to the 40th anniversary of his own inauguration. Having lived to age 100, he is the longest-lived president in US history. His cockade looks like it aged pretty well too!

Nearly everyone is familiar with U.S. Grant’s role as general in the Civil War. Not as many people know much about other facets of Grant’s life.

That’s probably just as well, as Grant wasn’t nearly as good at the rest of life as he was at being a general! Grant’s military valor was unquestioned, both in the Mexican American War and the Civil War. But he apparently had no head for business and failed repeatedly in professional ventures.

He also struggled with the role of President, being dogged by charges of mismanagement and corruption. A national recession didn’t help his reputation either. This is one of his campaign cockades.

Altogether, Grant led a difficult life, but his place in American history is undisputed - for his generalship, not his presidency!

Some fun items from my collection - cockades from Richard Nixon’s 1960 campaign!

Many people immediately think of the Watergate scandal in connection with Nixon. But there’s a lot more to his career than that. In addition to serving as a representative, senator and vice president, he also served a meritorious career in the Naval Reserve during World War II.

His presidency oversaw the end of the Vietnam War, opening of relations with China and warming relations with the Soviet Union. On the domestic front he was plagued with economic problems and shortages, but also dealt with desegregation of public schools and the first landing on the moon in Apollo 11. The Watergate scandal brought an untimely end to his second term of presidency.

Though many Americans don’t know about him today, McKinley was a very influential president in our history.

He presided over the institution of Gold Standard Act, annexed Hawaii, and oversaw the Spanish American War, which led to the US controlling Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines and Cuba. These moves, though controversial, had influence that reverberated into the World Wars and beyond.

McKinley’s second term ended early when he was shot by an anarchist. Teddy Roosevelt finished his term (as noted above).

Another cockade from modern times! This striking beauty is from Reagan’s first inauguration in 1981.

Reagan’s career, like many presidents before him, included much besides politics. In addition to roles as radio announcer and movie actor, he also served in the Officers Reserve Corps during World War II. Reagan served two terms as California’s governor before being elected as president in 1980. Reagan is one of only three presidents to be wounded in, and survive, an assassination attempt (Teddy Roosevelt and Donald Trump are the others).

Introducing a series of economic reforms that became named after him, Reagan saw an improvement over the troubled economies of the 60s and 70s. His policies with the Soviet Union also led the end of the Cold War. Many Republicans today still refer to him as one of the best spokesman for Republican ideals.

So let’s wind up with the man in whose honor this day was started - George Washington, the Father of the Country. This cockade was created with the black and white color scheme that Washington himself wore during the Revolutionary War.

Much has been said about Washington in the 225 years since his death. Interestingly, a look at his military and political careers show dogged determination but not particular brilliance. Unlike other Founders and Presidents, he didn’t contribute amazing inventions, spectacular generalship, great works of philosophy or definitive books on history. At first glance, it seems that his claim to fame is merely in being “first.”

Until you look closer and realize why he was first - and what that meant for our country and for democratic ideals around the world. Washington was chosen as army commander and as first president because of his character.

He was a man of deep integrity, self-control even in the face of disaster, and unselfishness even to the point of personal loss. He was determined and persevering, refusing to be either bought or discouraged. After America’s victory, Washington could have become king or military dictator of America - it was literally his for the asking. He refused and insisted the country stick to ideals of limited, constitutional, law-abiding government.

You could say his greatness consists in him being an ordinary man with an extraordinary commitment to principle. As such, he became an example for every subsequent president to live up to.

I will be leaving on Thursday for the Battle of Aiken, SC reenactment, so my shop will be temporarily closed this week.

If you want me to bring a cockade for you to Aiken, please let me know by Tuesday at the latest, so I can make sure I have it in stock. With hundreds of styles in my shop, there’s no way I can bring them all so check ahead of time if there’s one you’d like to buy!

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Thanks for reading!
Regards,
~Heather Sheen

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