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In 1936, under the banner of the Socialist Party of America, Norman Thomas ran for President of the United States with running mate George A. Nelson. Thomas had already run for President twice, 1928 & 1932 respectively, before attempting his third run with running mate Nelson. Despite being from a minority party, they received over 160,000 votes across 18 states in the 1936 election. 

Image of a baseball with red text and two interlocking bats above​

This button was originally given out at the Milwaukee Braves stadium as a souvenir item during the 1950s. Beginning in 1953, the city of Milwaukee officially welcomed the Braves as their official baseball team. The Braves were the first major league franchise to move cities, an act that paved the way for more teams in the process. The Braves' time in Milwaukee lasted for thirteen years until the team moved to Atlanta following the 1965 season. While in Milwaukee, the Braves enjoyed two pennants in 1957 and 1958 as well as a World Series title, defeating the New York Yankees in game 7 of the 1957 series.

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Charles Joseph Vogel began his career during World War I as a Sergeant in the American Expeditionary Force. After the war Vogel earned his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School and in 1925 opened a practice in North Dakota. By 1940, Vogel attempted to run for Senator of North Dakota but failed to win the election. He returned to his practice until mid-1941 when he was appointed to the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Vogel, while unsuccessful in his bid for Senate, established a lengthy career in the Judicial branch of the U.S. political system. 

Image of Tony Galento with red and blue text​​

Tony "Two Ton" Galento was an American heavyweight boxer who is well known for his colorful antics both in and outside the arena. Born Dominic Anthony Galento, Tony earned the nickname "Two Ton" for a famous incident in which he was nearly late to one of his matches. Upon being asked why he nearly missed the fight, Tony responded with "I had two tons of ice to deliver on my way here." A natural showman, Galento engaged in a series of publicity stunts throughout his career. Galento once campaigned as a representative of the Prohibition Party in a fake run for president. In addition, Galento also famously wrestled an octopus and boxed a kangaroo as well as a bear.​​

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In the 1986 Illinois Gubernatorial election, Libertarian Party candidate Gary L. Shilts competed for the executive office of Illinois. Shilts managed to pull in about 15,000 votes giving him the support of .5% of the electorate. Largely beholden to the Democratic Party, few Illinois residents subscribe to Libertarian Party ideology, as evidenced with all Illinois Libertarian elected officials finding support at only the local level. In 2002, Shilts competed again for elected office but instead ran for Attorney General. He garnered almost 88,000 votes, much higher than his previous bid for office but it was not enough, instead only accounting for 2.5% of the general electorate.  

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Lyndon B. Johnson (D-TX) rose from a Junior House Representative to the President of the United States in an accomplished 30 year career in politics. His platform included expanding civil rights for African-Americans, combating poverty and urban blight, and supporting the social safety net established by the New Deal. During his time as a Congressional Representative, Johnson regularly advocated for rural development and assisted with increasing the standard of living throughout Texas and was even instrumental in securing the building of a hydro-electric dam on the lower part of the Colorado River. This grew his popularity among rural voters immensely, and Johnson hoped to capitalize on this in the 1964 Presidential Election. However, his support for expanding civil rights caused many Southern politicians and voters to balk at his policies. Johnson’s successful passage of the bill led many Southern states to switch their allegiance from the Democratic Party to the Republicans, in support of candidate Barry Goldwater (R-AZ). 

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Richard M. Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, from 1969-1974. Born in 1913, Nixon began a distinguished law career before becoming a Navy Lieutenant during WWII. After his service, he was elected as a Senator from California, and two years later he became Vice President under Eisenhower. He narrowly lost to Kennedy in the 1960 Presidential election, but succeeded in 1968.

Nixon’s Presidency was initially characterized as a time of peace. He ended the Vietnam War, improved relations with the Soviet Union and China, and brokered agreements in the Middle East. However, his Presidency became marred due to the Watergate Scandal, in which his party members broke into the Democratic National Committee offices. Although denying personal involvement, Nixon was caught trying to impede investigations. Facing impeachment, he decided to resign, becoming the only President to do so. 

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"My Rady Ike" is Czech for "I Like Ike," Dwight D. Eisenhower's slogan for his successful 1952 presidential campaign. Eisenhower was initially approached by both the Democrat and Republican parties to run in the 1948 election, but he turned them both down. In 1952, however, the retired general embraced the task as the Republican's nominee.

Despite being a national war hero for his role as a World War II general, Eisenhower's team crafted the slogan to portray him as down-to-earth. The simple phrase worked and it, along with the candidate, became incredibly popular. "I Like Ike" was used in the nation's first televised campaign ads, including one animated by Walt Disney Studios. Additionally, campaign merchandise reproduced the slogan in at least ten different languages. America proved to be receptive to the message, as Eisenhower defeated the Democrat Adlai Stevenson in a landslide victory.  

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Lyndhurst is a mansion located in Tarrytown, New York that was designed in 1838. It was home to three different families over the years, until it was given to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Each family added on to the original house, starting from a country villa. The mansion doubled in size by 1865, and a bowling pavilion and recreation center were added in 1894. Lyndhurst sits on 67 acres of park-like landscape and it is open to the public.

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The 1964 U.S. presidential election saw a contentious battle play out between incumbent Lyndon B. Johnson and his Republican challenger Barry Goldwater. Johnson championed his passage of the 24th Amendment, which outlawed poll taxes, as well as the Civil Rights Act. He also touted his largely successful War on Poverty, which brought about programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Head Start.

In contrast, Goldwater ran on the promise of lower taxes and states’ rights. He was also a fierce opponent of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and believed that the Johnson administration was overreaching its powers. To show their support, Goldwater’s defenders donned anti-Johnson buttons that read “Bye Bye Birds” and “LBJ’s for LBJ!”. Although Goldwater “built his career on bashing unions,” many of these campaign pin-backs were ironically created and worn by union members. Ultimately, Johnson carried 44 states along with the District of Columbia and won in a landslide. He remained in the Oval Office for four more years until Richard M. Nixon took over in 1969.

Political buttons like “LBJ’s for LBJ!” were widely manufactured by the Emress Specialty Company in the 1960s. The business was started a decade prior by New Yorker Emanuel “Manny” Ress in Atlantic City with the hopes of one day pinning his buttons on politicians. Once his dreams were fulfilled, Ress later branched out to include humorous buttons among his products.