The Salt River ticket, democratic discourse, and nineteenth century American politics

In the mid-nineteenth century, victorious partisans distributed Salt River tickets to tease and mock the supporters of losing candidates in the days following local, state, and national elections. This once popular form of political communication provides an entry point for investigating the role of media in the carnivalesque political culture of the past. The imagery of the tickets and the circumstances of their use articulated the bond between partisan adversaries. The history of the Salt River ticket helps contextualize the conflict between liberal and populist values in contemporary American political discourse.