Historical Elections
Excerpts from the Record-Herald and Indianola Tribune Wednesday, November 8, 2000
This flag was discovered while cleaning the Museum. It didn't take too long to learn the history of this flag. Jack Barker happened to notice the flag. He said that "it kind of looks like the flag my Great-Great Grand Father had." When Jack went home, he found the Indianola Paper that featured his flag on the first page.
This flag is from a Republican political convention Jack's Great-Great Grand Father attended on Saturday Feb. 9 1856. This convention was held to name delegates to the state convention. We think this flag is particularly significant as this was the first year the Republican party ran a candidate for president.
John C. Frémont, the first Republican candidate for president was defeated by the Democrats' nominee, James Buchanan in 1856. Four years later, On November 6, 1860, Republican Abraham Lincoln was elected as the 16th President of the United States, beating Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, John C. Breckinridge of the Southern Democrats, and John Bell of the new Constitutional Union Party.
