Button is bisected diagonally with red text on a white background forming blue rhombus shapes on either side behind white text; red and white stripes align diagonally with the red text. 

America's Bicentennial in 1976 was a time of optimism for the country after the tumultuous 1960s and early 1970s. After the grand celebration in Washington, D. C., President Gerald Ford said: “Rarely in the history of the world had so many people turned out so spontaneously to express the love they felt for their country. Not a single incident marred our festival. The nation’s wounds had healed. We had regained our pride and rediscovered our faith, and in doing so, we had laid the foundation for a future that had to be filled with hope."

Color illustration portrait of William Howard Taft above an illustrated eagle holding a United States flag shield; blue text surrounds the illustration. 

Wesleyan College was founded in 1831 in Middletown, Connecticut by citizens of Middletown and Methodist leaders. One of Wesleyan’s beloved traditions is that of the Douglas Cannon. Originally used for ceremonial purposes, it was “stolen” in 1957 by students and returned the following year. Since then it has made many disappearances, many years long in some cases, before being spotted in photographs and personal appearances.

The 27th president of the United States, William Howard Taft served from 1909-1913. In September 1909, at the tail end of a 14,000 mile tour, President Taft took time to attend the inauguration of William Shanklin as president of Wesleyan University. The ceremonies of the day took place on the university grounds, but it’s noted in the Meriden Morning Record that, “the town completed its own celebration…with a display of fireworks. The crowds were large, but there were no accidents to mar the arrangements.”

Yellow letters with a black outline and red, orange, green, and blue 3-D effect accents on a white background 

While it has undergone many iterations, Vacation Bible School is widely credited as being started by Mrs. Virginia Sinclair Hawes in 1898 New York. After seeing her doctor-husband treat children for injuries incurred by playing outdoors all summer, she wanted to provide alternative, religious education opportunities. Informal nondenominational Christianity lessons over summers evolved with the involvement of more Baptist churches into organizations that compiled themed packages of lessons, videos, plays, and other material aimed at teaching religious messages to children over summers and evenings. Numerous VBS programs, memorabilia such as buttons, t-shirts, and hats were generated as keepsakes. 

Off-white background with red rext around the rim and black text on the bottom center; a black and white photograph of Paul Boutelle is in the center

Paul Boutelle (1934-2016), or Kwame Montsho Ajamu Somburu, was born in 1934 in Harlem, NY. Somburu was an activist and politician who became interested in politics as a young adult. In the 1960s, Somburu was involved in many activist organizations including Fair Play for Cuba Committee, Freedom Party Now, Organization of Afro-American Unity, Afro-Americans Against the War in Vietnam, and the Socialist Workers Party. He also attended many Black Power conferences. Somburu was friends with Malcom X, and was with him at the time of his assassination. 

Somburu was the chosen candidate to represent the Freedom Now Party for the 1964 election for the New York State Senate. He then ran as a socialist candidate for the 1966 election for State Attorney General. In 1968, as represented on this button, Somburu ran as the vice presidential candidate representing the Socialist Workers Party along with the presidential candidate, Fred Halstead. While many remember Somburu as the vice presidential candidate in 1968, his son, Asi, describes that time as one of many moments in his life-long activist career. 

Somburu left school at the age of 16, and began educating himself as he was “Bored with being indoctrinated with Christianity, Capitalism, and Caucasianism,”. Referring to this time in his life, Somburu said “I have no regrets at this time over this decision. When I started to acquire a real education in my early twenties, I did not have that much brainwashing to get out of my mind”. Somburu used the information from his self education to fight for the rights of the marginalized nationally and internationally. Later, he decided to go back to school, become a teacher, and use his experience to educate public school children.

Black and white photo of Barry Commoner in the center, with a white background and black text on either side of the photograph

Barry Commoner (1917-2012) was a cellular biologist, professor, ecologist, politician, writer, and a citizen who deeply cared about the environment. Known as the “Father of the environmental movement”, Commoner raised awareness of environmental issues such as radioactivity releases, energy, solid waste and recycling, global dispersion of pollutants, and the use of genetic knowledge. He founded the first Federally-funded environmental health sciences center in the United States, the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems, in 1966. 

In 1980, Commoner ran as a presidential candidate representing the Citizen’s Party, a party he co-founded. The Citizen’s Party was created out of a dissatisfaction with the democratic and republican parties as well as then-president Carter's conservative economic and environmental views. The party's platform was progressive,  pro-science, environmentalist, and emphasized the need to use renewable energy. Commoner was a perfect candidate as he was the catalyst for the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963. The Citizen’s Party was not able to win five percent of the vote due to the candidacy of independent John Anderson as well as the influence and power of the media. However, Commoner dedicated the rest of his life to studying and bringing awareness to the causes of the environmental crisis. 

Red text on a white background

While the earliest written record of kite flying comes from China in 200 BCE, kite flying for fun and for sport became popular in the U.S. in the 1970s. The growth in the  popularity of kite flying has been attributed to Peter Powell and his introduction of the toy dual-liner stunt kite. In the 1970s, stores specializing in various types of kites could be found throughout the U.S. Come Fly a Kite, Inc. was one of those shops. The company opened in 1974 and featured various types of beautifully colored kites, including a kite made of mylar called the California Dragon Sunshine. While Come Fly a Kite, Inc is now a defunct corporation, many adults still recall fond memories of shopping for their colorful kites at the store located in San Francisco, CA. 

Dark yellow rim with a light yellow background and an illustration of cartoonist Outcault's "The Yellow Kid" character playing a lute and singing in the center. Black text is on the character's clothes, with a black signature and red text below. 

High Admiral Cigarettes was a cigarette brand popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The company employed pin-back buttons featuring images and slogans of presidents, pugilists, and in one series of over one hundred pins, Richard F. Outcault’s popular cartoon, the Yellow Kid. Each pin in the series was numbered one to one hundred and sixty. They were given out with packs of High Admiral Cigarettes in order to advertise the brand. Like High Admiral, other companies displayed the Yellow Kid character on their products, including Pulver Co., Davis S. Brown & Co., and Gusky’s Shoes. 

Black, white, and green line illustration of a stone wall in front of a large ace of spades playing card; four green bushes are behind the card and just behind them in the background—just visible—is the top of the White House.

Off-white background with dark brown text around the rim, separated in the middle on each side by small brown stars. A brown-toned portrait of Millard Fillmore is in the center of the button.

Millard Fillmore became the 13th president of the United States serving from 1850-1853, after succeeding to presidency due to the death of his predecessor, Zachery Taylor. As a member of the Whig party, he was the last president to not be affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties. As president, Fillmore inherited the controversial task of addressing the future of slavery. Regardless of opposing slavery, he supported and was instrumental in the passing of the Compromise of 1850. The Compromise also included the Fugitive Slave Act which Fillmore vigorously enforced. This gave power to federal officials to seize runaway slaves; those assisting any runaway slaves also faced severe consequences. 

Fillmore became an unpopular president as both the North and South took issue with his politics. He believed he could create a truce between the two sides with the passing of the Compromise and delay the inevitable Civil war. Fillmore wanted to bring peace even at an unconscionable price as he took slavery as a political issue and not a moral one. He is quoted saying: 

God knows I detest slavery, but it is an existing evil, for which we are not responsible, and we must endure it and give it such protection as is guaranteed by the constitution, till we get rid of it without destroying the last hope of free government in the world

In 1856, Fillmore ran for president for a second term under the American party—more popularly know as the “Know Nothings” party. As his campaign progressed, his supporters adopted the slogan, “Peace at any Price” aimed at those willing to pay the price of slavery to avoid civil war. He did not get reelected. 

In 1968, the “Peace at any Price” slogan was co-opted by some anti-war student groups who issued buttons bearing Fillmore’s image. 

Red background with a large, black five-pointed star in the center. Over the star are red letters with a black outline; small black text appears under the star around the rim. 

In the early 1970s, the Social Revolutionary Anarchist Federation (SRAF) was formed, existing until the late 1980s. This network allowed any organization in North America that identified as an anarchist group to join. The network included an interesting mix of communist, capitalist, individualist, and “yippie” groups from various North American cities. While the larger network agreed upon anarchist ideas, each smaller group held wildly different opinions about politics and life. This created a less than ideal situation for joint gatherings. However, individuals found comfort and acceptance within their chosen groups, which gave them a sense of belonging and a place to discuss issues important to them. The network published pamphlets, bulletins, and magazines created by the various groups, which allowed for back and forth debates. These publications can still be found in archives, such as the Kate Sharpley Library, and provide an interesting glimpse into the issues anarchists found important in the 1970s and 80s.