White and blue text on a button divided half blue and half white.

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.

White and Blue text on a background divided into red, white and blue horizontal stripes.

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.

White text on a black background.

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.

Illustration of a circle divided into five equal wedges in black, white, red, brown and yellow.  White text on a blue background.

After the disastrous and chaotic 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago many felt disillusioned with the Democratic Party. A major push was conceived to try and appeal to minority voters and progressive Whites to form a new political coalition for the Democratic Party to tap into as its voter base. To promote this new multi-racial and multi-ethnic coalition promotional and campaign materials were produced to show the new and inclusive version of the party.

White background with red text

Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957) was an American politician whose actions are best recognized for dominating the U.S. political climate of the 1950s. McCarthy previously served as a circuit judge before running for the Senate in 1946, which this button was used to promote. In a famous 1950 speech, McCarthy made the claim that the State Department had been infiltrated by communists, which created a national uproar. In testifying before the Senate committee on Foreign Relations, McCarthy was unable to back up his claims. 

Winning reelection in 1952, McCarthy continued with his investigations. In 1954, a televised 36-day hearing was held where McCarthy turned his communist accusations towards the United States Army. McCarthy's accusations were found unsubstantial, weakening his support and popularity. In that same year, the Senate called for a vote condemning McCarthy for his conduct and lack of evidence in his investigations. The vote would lead to McCarthy being censured by the Senate, thus hindering his influence over the American public.

Blue and red text on a white background.

Eugene McCarthy was born on March 29th, 1916 in Watkins, Minnesota. From 1949 to 1959 he was a Representative for Minnesota’s 4th District, and from 1959 to 1971 he served as a U.S. Senator for Minnesota. McCarthy attempted multiple U.S. presidential runs—most famously against Lyndon B. Johnson—but never succeeded in gaining his Democratic party's nomination. He ran on the platform of anti-war sentiment and was popular with youth. After his last term as a Senator in 1970, McCarthy went on the become a lecturer and writer.

Illustration of white dove with an olive branch with white text on a blue background.

On April 15, which was the federal income tax filing deadline in 1967, hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets in New York City and San Francisco to protest the Vietnam War. In New York, protestors marched from Central Park to the UN building to hear speeches given by fierce critics of the war like Martin Luther King, Jr., Benjamin Spock, and Jan Berry Crumb. In San Francisco, more than 100,000 protestors participated in the event. Individuals taking part in the demonstrations opposed the use of federal taxes toward offensive military ends. Doves and olive branches were popularly used as symbols for the anti-war movement as they traditionally stand for peace.