See What Presidential Campaigns Looked Like in the 1800s [PICS]

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In the presidential election of 1840, candidates didn't have television, radio or social media to spread the word. Instead, they had to hit the streets with eye-catching campaign posters in order to convince voters to cast their ballots.

Not only did these posters have to be beautifully illustrated, they also had to have a memorable slogan -- a handful of words that would burn in voters' minds when they headed to the polls.

These slogans are indicative of the issues voters cared about during that time. It was 148 years ago that Abraham Lincoln popularized the phrase, "Don't change horses midstream." Four years later, in 1868, Republicans urged Union men to "Vote as You Shot," for Ulysses S. Grant.

In 2008, Obama campaigned under the memorable slogan "Yes We Can," touting change in a broken government and economy. In today's election, Obama is running under his new slogan, "Forward." His opponent Mitt Romney adopted the phrase, "Believe in America."

Browse through the campaign posters and their slogans to see how the presidential election has changed over the course of a century. Would these campaigns have convinced you to vote? Sound off in the comments below.

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All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain