1888 United States election squibs
Collection — Folder: S3519
Identifier: S3519
Scope and Contents
This collection includes two election squibs as mock ticket stubs regarding the 1888 United States presidential election between Republican Benjamin Harrison and Democrat Grover Cleaveland. Both election squibs note the fictional company Salt River Packet, a reference to a colloquial political slogan “up salt river” that implied political defeat, especially for an important leader and the rest of their party. The satirical advertisements refer to other political leaders in the form of stop-over checks, as well as references fictional steamers “Newt. Harding” and “Lord Sackville West,” both references to their respective candidate regarding potential scandals.
Dates
- 1888
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Rare Books and Manuscripts.
Historical Note
The United States presidential election of 1888 was held on November 6, 1888, between incumbent Democrat Grover Cleveland and Republican Benjamin Harrison.
At the time Indiana was a contested swing state and home to Benjamin Harrison, a likely factor considered by the Republican National Committee (RNC) during Harrison's nomination. Indiana would take center stage in the election due to Democrats revealing a letter from the RNC that showed them exhorting “floaters,” voters willing to sell their vote for the highest price, to vote for Harrison.
Tariff reform rose as the key issue of the presidential race with Cleveland advocating for a reduction to tariffs to alleviate consumer spending. Meanwhile, Harrison and Republicans wanted higher tariffs which would benefit domestic manufactures. The free trade issue dominated Cleveland’s image in the race. This eventually came to a head when Republican George Osgoodby, impersonating a British immigrant under the name Charles F. Murchison, wrote a letter to Lord Lionel Sackville West, the British ambassador to the United States, asking advice on whom to vote for in the election. Upon receiving a reply from the ambassador in which the British government showed preference for Cleveland, the letter was published and used against Cleveland in the presidential race.
In the end, Cleveland won 5,539,118 votes, but only 168 electoral votes while Harrison won only 5,449,825 votes, but obtained 233 electoral votes thus winning the election. Harrison won the election, but not the popular vote, which did not occur again for 112 years.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Ackerman, S. J. “The Vote That Failed: Old Style Ballots Cast Illegally in Indiana Helped Topple a President Then He Helped Topple Them.” Smithsonian Magazine, November 1998. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-vote-that-failed-159427766.
Barsy, Susan. “Up Salt River.” American Inquiry, March 25, 2012. https://americaninquiry.com/2012/03/25/up-salt-river.
A letter addressed to Lord Sackville West by a citizen of California To the British Minister, Washington, D.C. September 4, 1888, New York. Accessed June 18, 2025. https://www.loc.gov/item/2020779596.
Britannica. “United States presidential election of 1888.” Accessed June 18, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1888.
Glass, Andrew. “Grover Cleveland loses to Benjamin Harrison, Nov. 6, 1888.” Politico, November 6, 2013. https://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/grover-cleveland-loses-to-benjamin-harrison-nov-6-1888-099400.
Library of Congress. “Presidential Election of 1888: A Resource Guide." Accessed June 18, 2025. https://guides.loc.gov/presidential-election-1888.
Talbott, Tim. “What’s Up with Salt River and Antebellum Political Cartoons?.” Random Thoughts on History, March 13, 2013. https://randomthoughtsonhistory.blogspot.com/2013/03/whats-up-with-salt-river-and-antebellum.html.
Wikipedia.com. “1888 United States presidential election.” Wikipedia. Accessed June 18, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1888_United_States_presidential_election.
Wikipedia.org. “Salt River (politics).” Wikipedia. Accessed June 4, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_River_(politics).
At the time Indiana was a contested swing state and home to Benjamin Harrison, a likely factor considered by the Republican National Committee (RNC) during Harrison's nomination. Indiana would take center stage in the election due to Democrats revealing a letter from the RNC that showed them exhorting “floaters,” voters willing to sell their vote for the highest price, to vote for Harrison.
Tariff reform rose as the key issue of the presidential race with Cleveland advocating for a reduction to tariffs to alleviate consumer spending. Meanwhile, Harrison and Republicans wanted higher tariffs which would benefit domestic manufactures. The free trade issue dominated Cleveland’s image in the race. This eventually came to a head when Republican George Osgoodby, impersonating a British immigrant under the name Charles F. Murchison, wrote a letter to Lord Lionel Sackville West, the British ambassador to the United States, asking advice on whom to vote for in the election. Upon receiving a reply from the ambassador in which the British government showed preference for Cleveland, the letter was published and used against Cleveland in the presidential race.
In the end, Cleveland won 5,539,118 votes, but only 168 electoral votes while Harrison won only 5,449,825 votes, but obtained 233 electoral votes thus winning the election. Harrison won the election, but not the popular vote, which did not occur again for 112 years.
Sources:
Items in the collection.
Ackerman, S. J. “The Vote That Failed: Old Style Ballots Cast Illegally in Indiana Helped Topple a President Then He Helped Topple Them.” Smithsonian Magazine, November 1998. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-vote-that-failed-159427766.
Barsy, Susan. “Up Salt River.” American Inquiry, March 25, 2012. https://americaninquiry.com/2012/03/25/up-salt-river.
A letter addressed to Lord Sackville West by a citizen of California To the British Minister, Washington, D.C. September 4, 1888, New York. Accessed June 18, 2025. https://www.loc.gov/item/2020779596.
Britannica. “United States presidential election of 1888.” Accessed June 18, 2025. https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1888.
Glass, Andrew. “Grover Cleveland loses to Benjamin Harrison, Nov. 6, 1888.” Politico, November 6, 2013. https://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/grover-cleveland-loses-to-benjamin-harrison-nov-6-1888-099400.
Library of Congress. “Presidential Election of 1888: A Resource Guide." Accessed June 18, 2025. https://guides.loc.gov/presidential-election-1888.
Talbott, Tim. “What’s Up with Salt River and Antebellum Political Cartoons?.” Random Thoughts on History, March 13, 2013. https://randomthoughtsonhistory.blogspot.com/2013/03/whats-up-with-salt-river-and-antebellum.html.
Wikipedia.com. “1888 United States presidential election.” Wikipedia. Accessed June 18, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1888_United_States_presidential_election.
Wikipedia.org. “Salt River (politics).” Wikipedia. Accessed June 4, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_River_(politics).
Extent
0.01 Cubic Feet (1 folder)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection is arranged by subject.
Custodial History
This collection was received by Rare Books and Manuscripts as a donation.
Accruals
No further additions are expected.
Processing Information
Collection processing completed 2025/06/25 by Shannon O'Donnell. EAD finding aid created 2025/06/25 by Shannon O'Donnell. EAD finding aid revised 2025/12/09 by Brittany Kropf.
- Advertisements
- Campaign literature
- Cleveland, Grover, 1837-1908
- Elections -- United States
- Harrison, Benjamin, 1833-1901
- Political campaigns -- 19th century
- Politicians
- Politicians -- United States -- 19th century
- Politics and government
- Presidential candidates
- Presidential candidates -- United States
- Presidents -- Election
- Sackville, Lionel Sackville Sackville-West, Baron, 1827-1908
- United States -- Politics and government
- Title
- 1888 United States election squibs
- Status
- Completed
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
140 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 U.S.A.
317-232-3671
