Illustration of a pair of six-sided dice displaying two pips and one pip.  Black text on a white background.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt served as the 32nd president of the United States for two terms before running for reelection in 1940. When he was first elected to office in 1932, the country was deep into the Great Depression with approximately 13,000,000 people unemployed. Roosevelt is credited with giving hope to the American people, beginning with his inaugural address which included his famous quote, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

In 1940, Roosevelt ran against Republican presidential candidate Wendell Wilkie, who launched an aggressive anti-Roosevelt campaign. Wilkie painted the New Deal—one of the Roosevelt administration’s greatest successes—as a waste and warned voters that the incumbent was secretly attempting to bring the nation into the Second World War. Despite his attacks on Roosevelt, Wilkie lost the general election with only 82 electoral votes to Roosevelt’s 449. After the 1940 election, Roosevelt was free to extend his time in office and serve a record-breaking third term.

Illustration of a blue war plane in front of a white background with red text on the top and bottom.

Born on February 18, 1892, Wendell Willkie was an American lawyer and corporate executive who is perhaps best known for being the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Campaigning against President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Willkie actively campaigned against Roosevelt's New Deal policy as well as for a more active role for the United States in World War II. On election day, President Roosevelt received twenty-seven million votes to Willkie's twenty-two million, and also held a substantial lead in the Electoral College with four hundred and forty-nine to Willkie's eighty-two.

Despite his loss, Willkie, to the surprise of many in his party, became an unlikely ally to the President. Between 1941 and 1943, Willkie embarked on numerous trips abroad, acting as the President's informal envoy. Willkie actively pushed for the United States to provide unlimited aid to Britain in their struggle against Nazi Germany. After returning to campaign once more for President in 1944, Willkie suffered a series of heart attacks, forcing him to leave the campaign. Willkie finally succumbed to a heart attack and died in 1944 at the age of fifty-two. Willkie is remembered and hailed for providing President Roosevelt with political assistance that proved vital to helping America's allies during World War II. Click here to see an alternate version of this button.

Illustration of the Liberty Bell with a red, white, and blue background with blue text on top and white text on the bottom

This button was used around the time of the Republican National Convention of 1940. The Liberty Bell, an iconic symbol of American independence is seen prominently on the button, endorsing Willkie as an advocate of American values. The convention took place from June 24 to June 28, 1940 and was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wendell Willkie, an American lawyer and  corporate executive was officially nominated as the party's candidate for President alongside Senator Charles McNary from Oregon for Vice President. Willkie, who had never run for public office prior was viewed as an unlikely candidate. Having previously been pro-Roosevelt as well as an outspoken advocate for providing aid to the Allied forces during World War II, Willkie's nomination came as a surprise to many. 

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Wendell Willkie was an American lawyer and corporate executive who was nominated as the 1940 Republican nominee for President. Willkie was considered a surprising choice given that he had little experience in politics. Willkie was campaigning against President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who at the time was running for his third term in office. Running alongside Willkie as his Vice President was Senator Charles L. McNary of Oregon. McNary held more political experience than his running mate, being the Senate minority leader at the time. Though partners, Willkie and McNary had notably different opinions on a number of topics. While Willkie was a staunch opponent of President Roosevelt's implementation of the New Deal programs, McNary openly supported the policies. Another example was their disagreement on the Tennessee Valley Authority, a federally owned power-producing corporation. While McNary supported the corporation, Willkie opposed the company and their practices.

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Wendell Willkie was the Republican nominee for the 1940 presidential election. He was a dark horse candidate because he did not run in the primaries, and he had been a registered Democrat until 1939. In 1940, the Republican Party was split over the war in Europe, and Willkie campaigned as an outsider. He found favor with many Republicans disaffected with the party establishment, and eventually got the nomination after six convention votes. Fans in the balconies chanted, “We want Willkie!” Democrat opponents thought Willkie was a johnny-come-lately and derided his popularty with “Watch Willkie Wilt.” The Democrats were right. Willkie lost by a slight margin to Franklin Delano Roosevelt who enjoyed an unprecedented third term.

White and black text on a red, white and blue background with a black and white photograph of Reagan's head in the center

Ronald Reagan made his first run for President of the United States as the Republican nominee in the 1980 election. He ran against the incumbent, Jimmy Carter, and won a total of 489 electoral votes. In January of 1981, he became the 40th president of the United States and served two terms.

Before entering into politics, Reagan was an actor in Hollywood. He also served for eight years as the president of the Screen Actors Guild. His official switch from acting to politics came in 1964 when he gave a televised speech for the Republican Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. Two years later, he ran for governor of California and went on to serve two terms.

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The Willkie, Farr, and Gallagher legal firm has its origin when, under the name Hornblower and Byrne, they opened in 1888. Harold J. Gallagher would be admitted to the firm in 1925 and become one of the leading members, eventually restructuring the company to include his name. To facilitate this transition, he recruited Wendell Willkie in 1940 who was coming off a presidential loss to FDR. Several members of the organization have even reached the Supreme Court. Today, the firm employs over 700 elite lawyers.

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In the 1940 presidential election, Republican candidate, Wendell Willkie, faced off against President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was campaigning for a third term in office. While it was not yet written in the Constitution, a U.S. President customarily served only two terms in office, making President Roosevelt's reelection campaign controversial. Using the President's break from tradition as a platform for his own campaign, Willkie and his staff used the slogan, "No Third Term" as an attack on Roosevelt. Despite its irregular nature, Roosevelt went on to win the election, becoming the only President in American history to ever be elected for a third term. First passed by Congress in 1947 and later ratified by the States in 1951, the Twenty-Second Amendment specifically limits a president to only two terms in office.​

Red, white, and blue colors with white and blue text.

In the 1940 presidential election, Republican candidate, Wendell Willkie, faced off against President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was campaigning for a third term in office. While it was not yet written in the Constitution, a U.S. President customarily served only two terms in office, making President Roosevelt's reelection campaign controversial. Using the President's break from tradition as a platform for his own campaign, Willkie and his staff used the slogan, "No Third Term" as an attack on Roosevelt. Despite its irregular nature, Roosevelt went on to win the election, becoming the only President in American history to ever be elected for a third term. First passed by Congress in 1947 and later ratified by the States in 1951, the Twenty-Second Amendment specifically limits a president to only two terms in office.

Inset photographs of Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew separated by an illustration of a red white and blue colored ribbon.  Small shield emblem with Vertical red and white stripes, and a blue upper field with white stars is in the top center of button.  Blue text on a white background.

Richard Milhous Nixon and Spiro Theodore "Ted" Agnew ran for President and Vice President of the United States in 1968. After winning the November election, they served as the 37th President and the 39th Vice President, respectively. They were successively reelected in the 1972 election, but following multiple scandals, Agnew resigned from office in late 1973, while Nixon resigned in 1974.