Old Rough and Ready

With James K. Polk refusing to seek re-election in 1848, the Democrats turned to Michigan senator Lewis Cass. The Whigs, sticking with their military hero strategy, nominated General Zachary Taylor, who had won fame in the war with Mexico. Taylor was very unpolitical, and had in fact never voted in his life. Taylor didn't even realize he had been nominated for a long time, since in those days the postage had to be paid by the addressee, and Taylor was getting so much mail due to his popularity that his official notification as Whig candidate went unopened for several weeks. The Whig campaign that year was simple: promoting Taylor's popularity, not his political beliefs. Taylor won the election fairly easy over Cass. Taylor's presidency was rather short, but one main issue of the day, slavery, was a major problem in 1850. When California wanted to enter the Union as a state, the question of Free or Slave once again hit the nation. Taylor wanted to admit California as a free state with no questions asked, but southern congressmen were not so pleased. What eventually came out of this was what is now known as the Compromise of 1850. California joined the Union as a free state, the Fugitive Slave Act was enacted, and the slave trade in Washington, D.C. was banned. However, Taylor was opposed to signing the Compromise, as he just wanted CA to be admitted to the Union and none of the slavery issues attached to the bill. But as fate would have it, another Whig president, like Harrison before him, and less than 10 years later, would die in office. On July 4, 1850, Taylor was attending a ball in the capital city, and it was unusually hot, and Taylor downed a pitcher of milk and ate a bowl full of cherries. A few days later, Taylor was very sick, and died on July 9. His Vice-President, Millard Fillmore, happened to disagree with Taylor and supported the Compromise of 1850, and signed it into law. Had Taylor lived, the Civil War might have started 10 years earlier. He earned the nickname "Old Rough and Ready" for his style in battle, often wearing plain clothes and a straw hat. This item I have is a print from Graham's magazine in 1847, showing Taylor ready for battle. It has a facsimile signature at the bottom, and is really not worth a whole lot, this is basically just a period item showing Zachary Taylor that was taken out of a magazine and is not a campaign item from 1848. Most Taylor items are rare, especially ribbons showing his picture. There are a couple medal/token versions under $100, but besides that all Taylor items are very pricey.