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As early as 1940, political jokes began incorporating the ‘Nobody for President’ sentiment in the mainstream public discourse. However, with the tumultuous events of the 1960’s and the rise of the counter-culture the joke started to gain some credible ground. In 1964, humor columnist Arthur Hoppe, created the satirical campaign to elect ‘Nobody For President’ and in a series of columns pretended to be working for the campaign office. This satire piece found a strong audience in the counter-culture of the 1960’s and even into the 1970’s did the joke continue to be referenced. By the 1976 Presidential elections, political activists Wavy Gravy and Curtis Spangler revived the joke campaign and brought it to the forefront of anti-establishment politics. The satirical campaign lives on today, operating a website at http://www.nobodyforpresident.org/ to carry on Hoppe’s work into the modern era. 

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Pat Paulsen was a comedian and satirist that participated in six Presidential elections from 1968-1996. His campaigns largely focused on comedy rather than political objectives garnering him few serious supporters. Paulsen was more notable for his comedy sketches on the The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour or his regular appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

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Ronald Reagan was an actor and union leader who became involved with politics in the 1960s. He was the Governor of California from 1966 to 1974. In 1968 he unsuccessfully ran against Richard Nixon to become the Republican Party's nominee for President. Reagan campaigned that he would balance the budget by freezing hiring and raising taxes.

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Evelle J. Younger was born in Stamford, Nebraska, on June 19th, 1918. He served as a judge in Los Angeles and was elected as the state Attorney General in 1970. He oversaw the prosecutions of Charles Manson and Sirhan Sirhan, the Robert Kennedy assassin. “Under the Younger administration, environmental protection and preservation assumed new importance when the state lawmakers passed CEQA; consequently, the Attorney General was now responsible to protect California from pollution, impairment, or destruction.” Under the Republican party, he campaigned for Governor of California but lost to Jerry Brown. 

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In 1984, Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. ran for President of the United States on the Democratic Party ticket. His primary strategy was to develop a “rainbow” coalition of African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, Arab-Americans, Asian-Americans, Farmers, the Poor and Working class, LGBT, and Progressive Whites to become his voter base. This rainbow is depicted on a lot of materials produced by his campaign highlighting the enthusiasm many felt for his diverse and inclusive politics. His policy positions included: removal of Reagan-Era tax cuts for the rich, slashing the Department of Defense budget, and the adoption of a single-payer healthcare system. Jackson only garnered 18.2% of the Democratic vote and thus never moved past the Primary stage, instead yielding to Walter Mondale who secured the nomination. 

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The Libertarian Party was founded on December 11, 1971 by David Nolan and supporters with similar political leanings in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The party’s platform includes: laissez-faire capitalism, non-interventionism, and the abolition of government welfare programs. Currently based in Alexandra, Virginia the party has amassed a following of over 500,000 members. Despite not holding any seats in Congress or any governorships, the Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the United States. 

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E. Harold Munn was a U.S. politician based out of Michigan. He was a member of the Prohibition Party and quickly rose to become its state chair in 1947. Munn ran for both Governor of Michigan (1952 & 1954) and President of the United States (1960 & 1964) but never received more than .31% of the vote in any of the elections he participated in. The Prohibition Party advocates for the Prohibition of alcohol and other vices and at nearly 150 years old, having been founded in 1869, is currently the oldest of the non-major political parties. 

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“The Redcoats are coming!” is a phrase often attributed to Paul Revere during his Midnight Ride to alert the colonial militia of the British, effectively starting the American Revolutionary War. Revere was a silversmith in Boston who supported colonial independence from Britain. He was part of an intelligence gathering and alarm system to report on British movement in the colonies. On the night of April 18, 1775, he and some 40 others rode throughout the area to warn of the British plans to secure munitions from Lexiton and Concord. Revere’s ride almost cost him his life while he was captured with other suspected rebels, but was able to escape and continue his journey. His exact phrase of his warning has been debated, he may have said “The Regulars are coming!”, “Redcoats,” or “King’s men.” He did not use the phrase, “The British are coming!” This phrase has become popular in the lore around Revere’s ride but he would not have used it since many of the colonists considered themselves to be British. 

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