Red, white and blue horizontal stripes with white text.

Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson is a minister, civil rights activist, and politician who ran for President of the United States in 1984 and 1988 as a Democrat. He also founded organizations which became Rainbow/PUSH and hosted the show Both Sides with Jesse Jackson on CNN from 1992 to 2000. Jackson was also a U.S. Shadow Senator during the 1990s for the District of Columbia. He has garnered several awards related to this activism and public service work which includes the distinguished Presidential Medal of Freedom given by former President Bill Clinton. 

Black text on a rainbow gradient background.

In 1988, Baptist minister and Democratic politician Jesse Jackson campaigned for the presidency for his second time. The noted activist’s first campaign in 1984 had put him in third place in the race for the Democratic Party’s nomination, which was much farther than many had believed he could go. Jackson’s 1988 platform was much the same as it had been in 1984, calling for a “Rainbow Coalition” of minorities, the LGBT community, and the poor. He also campaigned for an end to the War on Drugs, the creation of more jobs, and raising taxes on the wealthy. The campaign went well but was hindered by allegations of his brother’s criminal past. Jackson won second place in the race for the Democratic nomination, with first place going to Michael Dukakis who eventually lost the presidential election to George H. W. Bush. Jackson continued to serve in politics and social activism throughout the 2000s and 2010s. In 2023, he announced that he was stepping down from the Rainbow/PUSH organization—a non-profit founded by Jackson dedicated to promoting social justice and civil rights causes.

Sharing a similar message as Jackson, Illinois representative Cardiss Collins aligned herself with the presidential hopeful. Collins is a Democratic politician who served as a long-time representative for the state of Illinois. She was in office from 1973 to 1997 and became the first African-American congresswoman to represent the Midwest. She first entered the world of politics after she replaced her husband George, who died in a plane crash, as the representative of the state’s seventh congressional district. Throughout her time in Congress, she was a crusader for women’s rights and championed welfare issues.

Yellow text on a green background.  Green text inside yellow ring.

The 1980 United States presidential election was a race between front-runner Ronald Reagan and incumbent president Jimmy Carter. “Carter Must Go” was a phrase used in promoting the Republican party, and the button seen here blatantly expresses qualms republican's had with decisions made during Carter’s presidency. Many republican advertisements didn’t promote a republican candidate, but rather presented a vote of no confidence in the current leadership at the time. Reagan went on to win the presidency in a landslide. 

Red text on a white background.

The 1960 United States Senate election in Maine was historic. It was the first time in senate history that both major party candidates were women: popular Republican incumbent Margaret Chase Smith and Democratic contender Lucia Cormier. Smith had been elected in 1948, again in 1954, and was seeking her third term in 1960. That year Maine’s junior senator, Edmund Muskie, in a surprise twist, supported the opposing candidate. 

Cormier was a successful businesswoman and veteran state representative. She became Democratic floor leader in Maine’s State House of Representatives in 1959. The historic senate contest gained national attention when Senator Muskie escorted Cormier to the Senate Chamber, introduced her as “the next senator from Maine.” He urged her to take a seat at one of the historic desks. Smith complained it was a breach of Senate etiquette, and media frenzy began. 

Despite the accomplishments of both women, the press frequently derided their qualifications. They were pitted against each other as the “Widow v. Spinster.” However, the two women—who had worked together for years—were determined to be taken seriously. Referred to as the “Petticoat Race,” Margaret Chase Smith won the election by 62%.

Red and blue text on a white background.  Light blue silhouette illustration of the Liberty Bell.

The Liberal Party, founded in 1944, is a minor political party in New York State. The party generally supports democratic candidates, but has been known to support more liberal republican candidates as well. In the case of the 2000 U.S. presidential election, the Liberal Party supported the democratic ticket of former vice president Al Gore and his running mate, Joe Lieberman—the first Jewish man to be on the presidential ticket for a major American political party. Gore and Lieberman campaigned along with former first lady Hillary Clinton (who was running to represent New York in the U.S. Senate), and regularly attended rallies and other election-related events together.

When Al Gore chose Lieberman—a more conservative democrat who would eventually become an Independent—as his running mate, there were great hopes the choice would boost democratic support in New York, and undermine republican George W. Bush’s efforts to make inroads in the traditionally democratic stronghold of the Northeast.

The election was one of the closest in U.S. presidential history, and sparked a months-long investigation into the legitimacy of the results that was eventually decided in favor of Bush by the U.S. Supreme Court. Gore and Lieberman received more popular votes, but were defeated 271 to 266 in the Electoral College. Hillary Clinton was elected as senator from New York on November 8, 2000.

Yellow text on a green background.

The slogan, "Give 'em Hell, Harry"  comes from Harry Truman's presidential campaign in 1948. The media was predicting that he would lose to his opponent, Dewey. Truman's approval rating when he was President after FDR died was low and newspapers were already printing issues with Dewey as the winner of the election on the front page, but Truman ended up winning. His win may have been due to his tactic of attacking the "do-nothing" Republican dominated Congress of that period. Instead of attacking his opponent during the campaign, he continuously brought up the shortcomings of Congress while he was President.

"Give 'em Hell, Hillary" was adapted as a slogan for Hillary Clinton's campaign for President in 2016. This suggests that Secretary Clinton was in a similar position as Truman and utilized the same campaign tactics.

Side by side photographs of Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale with illustration of a peanut and red outlined shape of Franklin County, Pennsylvania on a white background.

Voters elected Democrat Jimmy Carter as the 39th United States President in 1976. His Vice President was U.S. Senator Walter Mondale from Minnesota. While Carter won Pennsylvania state in the 1976 election, Republican candidate Gerald Ford won Franklin County on the state’s southern border with 56.5 percent of the vote compared to Carter’s 41.4 percent. Carter and Mondale remained in the White House until 1981 after losing the 1980 election to Republican Ronald Reagan and his running mate George H.W. Bush. In the 1980 election, Carter lost Pennsylvania with 42.48 percent of the vote where Reagan got 49.59 percent. Franklin County supported Reagan with 61.8 percent of the vote compared to Carter’s 32.8 percent. After losing the election, Carter returned to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, and his peanut farm.

Photograph of Ronald Reagan's head on a white background encircled by green text.

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. Reagan lost the Republican nomination again in 1976. In 1980, he won the Presidential election defeating Democratic incumbent, President Carter to become the 40th President of the United States. He served as the President for two terms, from 1981-1989.

Photograph of Ronald Reagan wearing a cowboy hat below a photograph of an archway on a red background. Republican "elephant" symbols are on either side of Reagan photo and white text is along top edge of button. Bottom portion of button is a blue stripe with white stars and a white bottom portion with blue text.

Ronald Reagan ran for—and won—a second presidential term in 1984 against former Vice President Walter Mondale. 
 

Reagan attended Dixon High School in Illinois and was commonly referred to as "Dixon’s Favorite Son." The family settled in Dixon in 1920 and Reagan often regarded his childhood there in the most positive light. Spectator’s of Reagan’s life in Dixon suggested that the things that made him a beloved President were begun in the small town and helped shape his approachable nature.

Illustration of two women holding a large sign with red and blue text on a white background.

Ronald Reagan was the 40th president of the United States, serving from 1981 to 1989. Before he became president, he was a Hollywood actor, staring in several movies from the 40s, TV shows in the 50s, and serving as president of the Screen Actors Guild and the governor of California. In the 1984 election, Reagan ran for reelection against former vice president Walter Mondale, defeating him with 97.6% of the electoral votes.

The Reagan "ERA" is considered by many historians to cover the 1980s during Reagan's presidency. However, others see Reagan's influence lasting into the following decades, including the George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush presidencies during the 1980s, 90s, and early 2000s. The era is marked by a shift to conservative policy making in areas such as taxes, welfare, defense, the federal supreme court, and the Cold War.