History of Political Yard Signs

Every four years, we see a sea of signs scattered across the lawns of our neighborhoods. From the local county clerk races to the Presidential campaigns themselves. People proudly want to advertise to the world that they are voting for their favorite candidate. In recent years, political yard signs have become a signal for the age of political discourse we live in today with many yard signs being stolen from people’s yards. This makes people want to place their signs up even more despite the protests to proudly support their candidate. Politicians have been thriving off of this free advertising to bolster their campaign status and to encourage voters to go out on Election Day. Where did this tradition begin is the question we all ask. Why do we put up political campaign signs in our yards?

In America, this tradition has existed for centuries dating back to John Quincy Adams in the 1820s. John Quincy Adams wanted to get an edge on his opponent in his presidential campaign run and convinced townspeople to put up his signs in their yards. This tactic has been used every presidential campaign since. With millions of dollars spent every major election just on political campaign yard signs. A little known fact, John Quincy Adams was not the original inventor of signs being used for political purposes. This practice dates back to Ancient Rome, thousands of years ago. In those days, scribbles on walls were the form of advertising they used for political purposes.  Often being rather short in nature as there was not a lot of room to work with. Some extensive statements were used often praising public figures for their work in the community and why they should be nominated for a certain position. Politics has been at the heart of public influence for millenniums and there is no sign that will change anytime soon.

Political Campaign Yard signs typically feature a patriotic theme, promises by politicians and a slogan that their campaign has run off of. In the 2008 Presidential Election, Obama’s yard signs were the centerpiece of his campaign featuring the promise of hope and for a better future. In this most recent Presidential Election, Trump’s yard signs featured the infamous slogan, “Make America Great Again”. Yard signs have been the core for all kinds of political campaigns and being used on a nationwide scale. Our sister company, Signarama Naples specializes in doing premier Yard Signs in Naples. They have a wide range of experience in this field and could help with any signage need of yours.

Link to Signarama Naples storefront: https://www.signarama.com/fl-naples/products/yard-signs

Source: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/post-no-bills-the-ancient-romans-had-a-version-of-lawn-signs-too/