Winfield S. Hancock and the election of 1880

In my previous blog, I discussed James Garfield and some of his policies and presidential administration. His opponent in that election was General Winfield Scott Hancock, who had won fame during the Civil War at the Battle of Gettysburg. Hancock's name had been proposed before to run as the Democratic nominee, but he had never secured enough delegates until the 1880 election. Hancock, although from the North, had supported some Southern ideas, making him popular nationwide. In the election of 1880, Garfield managed to win the popular vote by .1%, making it a virtual tie, with Garfield winning 2,000 more votes than Hancock. In the electoral college however, Garfield was able to capture the entire North and Midwest to win the election. Hancock went on after the election to serve as President of the National Rifle Association, before dying in 1886. The election of 1880 showed the Democrats were getting closer to being able to win the presidency, which Republicans had held since 1861. In almost every election until Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for the presidency, the country was split in two, with the Republicans dominating the North and the Democrats controlling much of the South. This particular item is a token/medal and very common. Most Hancock items are scarce, especially ribbons or posters. Most tokens like this are not hard to find.