53rd Annual Delaware Show

Fig. 4. Printed textile portraying Zackary Taylor, made in the United States, 1848. Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont 1969.3332.1 In 1848 another victorious general was running for president. Images of Zachary Taylor and his campaigns in the Mexican-American War were repeated on textiles that draped the homes of his political supporters. The patterns combined popular decorative motifs with campaign imagery, such as the textile for curtains and quilts that showed General Taylor and his horse, Old Whitey (fig. 4) . Although women in the Jacksonian era couldn’t vote, much less run for president, they did find their own ways of participating in political campaigns. During Jackson’s campaigns in the 1820s, they could purchase, use, and display pin boxes showing support for a candidate. The pincushions on top of each box were stamped and painted with slogans such as “Victory to Jackson,” “Old Hickory Forever,” and “Don’t Forget New Orleans.” Jackson’s portrait was mounted under glass under the lid of each box. Sewing was also a prominent way women were actively involved in — 28 —