McG & Sarge

Two red stripes on a white background around the rim with a red union bug; blue-tinted photographs of George McGovern and R. Sargent Shriver—both laughing—are in the center on a white background

George McGovern and Sargent Shriver ran as the democratic presidential and vice presidential candidates in 1972 against their republican counterparts Nixon and Agnew. Both candidates fought against racial and class inequalities well before the 1972 election. McGovern, director of Food for Peace in 1961, expanded the program’s school lunch initiative that helped feed tens of millions of hungry children around the world. Shriver created the Peace Corps and fought for the War on Poverty by establishing programs and encouraging others to join the initiative. 

Despite their landslide loss to Nixon and Agnew, McGovern and Shriver garnered widespread support from students, anti-war activists, and reform liberals who aided in the grassroots approach by campaigning door-to-door for the democratic candidates. Their campaign has been considered as one of the most memorable due to the number and quality of campaign posters and memorabilia produced by the artistic community. Famous artists, such as Andy Warhol and Sister Corita Kent, produced artwork in support of McGovern and Shriver.