Druzina Za Svobodu

Black and white photographs of two men's head and shoulders with a blue ribbon like banner at the top with white text on a white background with an outer red edge

Družina Za Svobodu roughly translates to “an alliance for freedom” in Czech and Slovak. However, this button features two American politicians: Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater and his running-mate, William E. Miller. Czech- and Slovak-Americans and other immigrants from Eastern Bloc countries were often interested in candidates with a strong anti-Communist stance, and the Republican Party courted these “white ethnic” voters in the 1960s. In the 1964 campaign, Goldwater criticized his opponent, incumbent president Lyndon Baines Johnson, for giving in to communist aggression. Specifically, for tolerating the existence of a communist state (Cuba) so close to American territory.