Willkie McNary

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Text on Button WILLKIE AND McNARY
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Blue text on white center background with red area above and blue area below.

Curl Text BASTIAN BROS-CO, ROCHESTER,N.Y. Union bug
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The 1940 presidential election saw a shocking Republican nomination when Wendell Willkie was chosen to lead the ticket. Willkie was an American lawyer and corporate executive and largely not a political figure. To counteract this lack of political experience, his running mate was Charles McNary, who had been a senator of Oregon for 23 years and was highly experienced. 

Willkie gained momentum late into the process and passed expected winners, William Taft and Thomas Dewey. Both Taft and Dewey were staunchly isolationist and wanted to avoid getting involved in World War II. Republicans at the time wanted to help their allies, which Willkie was in favor of. Willkie lost the election in a landslide, losing to popular incumbent Franklin Roosevelt. Roosevelt was running an unprecedented third term, and his soaring popularity showed up during the election leading to his massive victory.

Sources

Schulman, M. (n.d.). 1940 Presidential Elections. History Central. https://www.historycentral.com/elections/1940.html

Catalog ID PO1059

Wall Around Trump

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Text on Button BUILD A WALL AROUND TRUMP! wallaroundtrump.com
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Photograph of Trump behind a wall with lightning bolts. Blue and red text on white background above photo with small black text on photo of wall.

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The border wall separating key points between Mexico and the United States is one of the key campaign promises that helped Donald Trump secure the presidency. At many rallies, the crowd would enthusiastically chant, “build the wall,” to show support for the initiative. Designed to curb the flow of illegal immigration, the idea of the wall was not well-received by much of the American public and the dissent was largely non-partisan, although it has been framed to be a partisan issue in recent years. Many would lose land that had been in families for generations along the border in order to construct a wall and the cost of animals and wildlife being unable to cross the border at intervals would create a large environmental impact. Others believed that the wall would not prevent any drug traffic from coming across the border, but would prevent migrant workers from being able to take seasonal jobs. Whether or not building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico is effective in reducing drug traffic is yet to be seen. Once in office, the Trump administration had issues funding to replace parts of the existing wall and add more walls across the border.

The response to the border wall is mixed, many Democrats arguing the wall is meant to keep certain races out of the United States. In response to the idea of a border wall to keep things out of the United States, people have jokingly asked that a wall be built around Trump to keep his ideas out of the United States.

Sources

Ryman, A., Wagner, D., O'Dell, R., & Crow, K. (n.d.). The wall – An in-depth examination of Donald Trump's border wall. USAToday.com. https://www.usatoday.com/border-wall/

Catalog ID PO1058

Teachers for Clinton Gore

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Text on Button TEACHERS for CLINTON GORE Union bug '96
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Photograph with Clinton and Gore waving in center above flag ribbon with red and blue text on white background.

Curl Text © MAY HOBBS POLITICAL MEMORABILIA 1-800-952-0099 HMOB07 ©1995
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President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore’s re-election campaign in 1996 emphasized the importance of education. This caught the attention of teachers. In the midst of a technological boom, Clinton and Gore felt it was vital to expand their efforts of supporting the public education system and teachers to set them up for success. The campaign promised to support teacher’s education, redesign failing systems, ensure tax dollars are going to public schools, support students with disabilities, and bring technology into the classrooms. Even further, they promised to support higher education to provide Americans with the opportunity to take part, and expand work study options.

Sources

UC Santa Barbara. (1996, August 26). 1996 democratic party platform. The American presidency project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/1996-democratic-party-platform

Catalog ID PO1056

Vote Taschen

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Text on Button VOTE TASCHEN
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Blue donkey with stars in center on white stripe with white text on red background above and blue background below.

Curl Text JFK: SUPERMAN COMES TO THE SUPERMARKET BY NORMAN MAILER PUBLISHED BY TASCHEN
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JFK: Superman Comes to the Supermarket was written by Norman Mailer and first published in 1960 by Esquire magazine. The rights to publish the material were eventually picked up by Taschen publishing. The content was eventually re-released in book format, and it covers the 1960 presidential campaign of John F. Kennedy. The book is unique in that it is a photo book that covers the campaign from beginning to end. The reader can experience the surge of momentum that Kennedy brought as they advance in pages. This eventually culminates in his election victory, with Mailer covering every step in between.

Taschen publishing was founded in 1980 by Benedikt Taschen and originally only published comic books. The company later evolved to publish other art books, hence the acquisition of Mailer’s photo book. The company is still managed by Benedikt, who now co-manages with her daughter, Marlene Taschen.

Sources

Hanlon, P. (2016, July 18). How Taschen seriously disrupts bookselling with amazing brand experiences. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickhanlon/2016/07/14/how-taschen-serio…

Taschen. (n.d.). Norman Mailer. JFK. Superman Comes to the Supermarket. https://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/photography/all/02887/facts…

 

Catalog ID PO1055

Synek for Senator

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Text on Button SYNEK for SENATOR
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Blue star with red text on white background above white text on blue background.

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Union bug

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Henry T. Synek was a Chicago-based attorney who ran for Illinois State Senate in 1970. Synek won the democratic nomination in March of 1970 and ran against incumbent Republican W. Russell Arrington in the general election in November. Arrington had held the seat for five terms since a special election in 1954. Arrington took 60% of the vote to Synek’s 40%. This would be Synek’s only campaign in politics. 

In 1971, Synek represented five plaintiffs in a legal case against the deceased Illinois politician Paul Powell’s estate. Powell was Illinois Secretary of State and despite earning a salary of $30,000 was found to have acquired over $2 million unaccounted for upon his death. Synek, on behalf of his clients, sued to have the money put under the charge of a court ordered trustee.  Eventually, it was discovered that Powell had received nearly $4.6 million in bribes for giving government contracts to political associates. Several contractors were later jailed for their roles in the bribery.

Sources

Asks dismissal of claim to Powell money. (1971, January 28). The Panatgraph, p. A8. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/70807219/

IL State Senate 01 (2009, September 28). In Our Campaigns. Retrieved June 29, 2020, from https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=557208

State Senate Nominations. (1970, March 18). Mt. Vernon Register-News, p. 10-A. Retrieved from https://www.newspapers.com/image/30403524/

 

Catalog ID PO1054

Stevenson Kefauver

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Text on Button STEVENSON and KEFAUVER
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Blue text on white background in center with red area above and blue area below.

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Union bug 634 Union bug 313 Union bug

Curl Text Union bug Union bug
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Democratic candidates Adlai Stevenson II and running mate Estes Kefauver campaigned in the 1956 presidential election. Stevenson was the former Illinois State Governor from 1949-1953. He ran for office in both the 1952 and 1956 elections and lost both times to Dwight D. Eisenhower and his running mate Richard Nixon. He attempted to gain the democratic nomination again in 1960, but lost the nomination to John F. Kennedy.

Sources

Cornell University Library. (n.d.). Stevenson-Kefauver Campaign Buttons, Pins, and Tabs, ca. 1956 - Cornell University Library Digital Collections. Retrieved October 15, 2019, from https://digital.library.cornell.edu/catalog/ss:10637474.

Catalog ID PO1053

Singer 44th

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Text on Button SiNGER/44th
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Blue text curving towards right on white background.

Curl Text Union bug
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Additional Information William Singer was elected as the alderman of Chicago's 44th ward in 1969, with a victory of only 429 votes. He later led an insurgency with Revered Jesse Jackson against Richard J. Daley at the Democratic National Convention in 1972, succeeding in replacing Daley's delegates. He later ran for mayor against Daley but was defeated in a landslide. He ended his career in politics and entered into a private law firm in the 1980s.
Sources
Galloway, Paul. (1985, March 31). "BILL SINGER: POLITICAL MAVERICK NOW PRACTICES LAW OF CLOUT" Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-03-31-8501180275-story….
Catalog ID PO1052

Scranton for President

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Text on Button SCRANTON for PRESIDENT
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Red text on white background

Curl Text Union bug 313 Union bug 634 Union bug
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William Scranton was a longtime Republican politician, who served as both a Governor to Pennsylvania and as an ambassador representing the United States in the United Nations. Scranton is known for his bipartisan appeal and would blur the line between liberal and conservative. He was in favor of social and civil rights issues such as increasing minimum wage, increasing aid to at-risk children, and making access to education easier. At the same time, he was fiscal conservative in matters relating to taxes and government spending.

Scranton became a late addition to the 1964 Presidential election, initially resisting advice to join the fray. Unfortunately for Scranton, by the time he did join, Barry Goldwater had already secured a sizable lead. His campaign became undone when a staffer wrote and published a letter highly criticizing Goldwater, but signed it as Scranton. This damaged Scranton’s reputation in the Republican party and Goldwater secured the nomination easily.

Sources

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. (n.d.). Governor William Warren Scranton. https://www.phmc.state.pa.us/portal/communities/governors/1951-2015/wil…

Catalog ID PO1051

Ross Perot 1992

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Text on Button Ross PEROT for PRESIDENT '92
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Illustration of a flag in upper left with red and blue text in center and lower right on a white background.

Curl Text MFG BY A.M. PRODUCTIONS AUSTIN TX 510-800-7008
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Texan industrialist and billionaire Ross Perot unsuccessfully ran as a third-party candidate in the 1992 presidential election. Perot ran on an Independent ticket and placed third to the runner-up, George Bush, and winner, Bill Clinton. He was successful in getting his name on all 50 ballots and even got on the debate stage with the other two candidates. While he gathered no electoral votes, Perot still managed to gather almost twenty million popular votes.

It can be argued that his campaign played spoiler to Bush’s election and cost the incumbent president key votes that may have won him the election. Perot’s campaign showed that while third-party candidates may not win, they could play spoiler and affect the race. His campaign also started a trend of financial moguls entering the national political scene.

Sources

Wolfe, Z. B. (2019, July 9). Why Ross Perot's presidential run was so important. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/09/politics/third-party-candidates-ross-per…

Catalog ID PO1050

Reagan Bush 84 Big

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Text on Button REAGAN BUSH '84
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Blue alpha text with Red lines and numerical text on white background.

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The 1984 presidential election was a contest between incumbent President Ronald Reagan and Vice President George H.W. Bush, and the Democratic Party's ticket former Vice President Walter Mondale and New York Representative Geraldine Ferraro. Mondale had wanted to choose New York Governor Mario Cuomo as his running mate, but he declined. Ferraro, recommended by Cuomo, was the first woman nominated for Vice President by a major party, and Mondale hoped to appeal to women voters. 

President Reagan could point to a strong economic recovery and renewed national confidence during his first term, while Mondale supported the Equal Rights Amendment and the need to decrease budget deficits. The Mondale/Ferraro ticket was damaged during the campaign by questions about Ferraro's husband, real estate developer John Zaccaro. Although there were some questions about Reagan's age and capacity to continue in the office, the Reagan/Bush ticket was successful on Election Day, receiving the electoral college votes of 49 out of 50 states. 

Catalog ID PO1048