Theodore Roosevelt was the subject of many canes. This example is capped by an original oversized faux ivory Roosevelt head. The shaft is a replacement. Theodore Roosevelt was Vice President when President William McKinley was shot and killed in Buffalo 1901. He was one of the most activist presidents and was a leader in the Progressive Movement. He left office at the end of his second term, and supported William Howard Taft as his successor. Four years later, he returned from retirement and ran against Taft, leading the largest third party movement in U.S. History. This cane was likely produced for supporters of the Bull Moose Party in 1912.

This is a campaign cane produced for supporters of Theodore Roosevelt when he ran for Governor of New York in 1898. It is composed of a classic campaign button attached to a stick. Lou Grumet included it in his collection of presidential campaign canes, because of Roosevelt's prominence after the Spanish American War, and his impact on presidential politics. During the decades after the Civil War, politicians from New York and Ohio dominated presidential campaigning.

This 1900 campaign walking stick was produced for supporters of William Jennings Bryan and Adlai Stevenson. Stevenson, of Illinois, was Vice President under Grover Cleveland. He was also the grandfather of the presidential candidate who later ran in 1952 and 1956 against Dwight Eisenhower. This stick was made of wood, covered with red white and blue campaign bunting and the candidate's pictures. It is a mirror image of the McKinley cane (2010.24.27).

This 1900 campaign walking stick was produced for supporters of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt, running as an Ohio/New York ticket. Roosevelt was an extremely popular Governor of New York, riding a wave of popularity from his role as a rough rider in the Spanish-American War. Many believe he was made vice president in order to get him out of the powerful New York governorship. This stick was made of wood, covered with red, white and blue campaign bunting and the candidate's pictures. It is a mirror image of the Bryan cane (2010.24.28).

The 1896 presidential campaign produced the greatest variety of campaign canes of any election. This example is silver plated, demonstrating William Jennings Bryan's support for the silver standard. The handle is in the form of Bryan's head, and includes campaign flags and the 16-1 formula he advocated for silver against gold. He was one of the youngest presidential candidates in history.

The 1896 presidential campaign produced the greatest variety of campaign canes of any election. The most common political canes used a candidate's likeness, in this case William McKinley, as the handle of the cane. This example is pewter, though some of McKinley's campaign canes were gilded to show his support of the gold standard.

The 1896 presidential campaign produced the greatest variety of campaign canes of any election. This cane features a tin horn created for William McKinley. It was inscribed with his slogan, "peace, prosperity and protection," and can actually be used to make noise, similar to a kazoo. It could be waved and used as a noise maker during rallies.

The 1896 presidential contest between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan produced a greater variety of canes than any other political campaign. Both parties felt passionately about the differences over the gold standard, tariffs, and rural versus urban lifestyles. This cane is made up of a McKinley campaign button mounted on a stick.

Following the Civil War, the support of women's suffrage became widespread. Concurrently, the push to extend the right to vote to former male slaves was also gaining momentum. Both movements culminated in constitutional amendments. A number of women used canes to publicize their movement as presidential candidates did during their campaigns. This intricately carved walnut cane has a suffragette on the top. It was strong enough to be used as a supportive cane.

Third parties were common in late nineteenth century politics, and no cause was more actively pursued in the 1890s than prohibition. In 1892, the candidate of the Prohibition Party was John Bidwell. A native New Yorker, Bidwell was one of the first pioneers in California. He was a very well-connected candidate for Governor of California. It was quite common for political candidates to hand out canes and walking sticks with the candidate's head and slogan. The major parties practiced this type of campaigning from 1868 to 1932. Though this cane is not an original, it was produced from an original mold that was used in 1892 to make souvenir canes.