Illustration of a bratwurst above a photograph of of Al Gore with red and blue text on a white background.  Blue outer border has red ring and white stars.

The term “Brat City” is one of the nicknames for Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Due to its popularity in the area, the city has also been called the “Bratwurst Capital of the World.” There is an annual fundraising festival that includes the Johnsonville World Bratwurst Eating Championship.

Sheboygan attorney and Democratic National Convention delegate, Angela Sutkiewicz, passed out memorabilia as a show of support for candidate Al Gore at the DNC. Sutkiewicz commented that if she knew they were going to be such a big hit, she would have sold them as a fundraiser.

Button is divided into three horizontal stripes, two red and one white.  Blue tinted photographs of Hubert Humphrey and Edmund Muskie inside white stripe.  White text on red stripes.

Hubert Humphrey and Edmund Muskie ran in the 1968 presidential election. Humphrey had previously served as Vice President under Lyndon B. Johnson and was encouraged to run when Johnson announced he would not seek reelection. Humphrey won the official nomination from the Democratic party and ran on a liberal platform that focused on civil rights and nuclear disarmament, although neither issues were popular at the time. They were ultimately defeated by Republicans Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew, who won 301 to 191 in the electoral college. 

Blue text on a white background.

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Red background with horizontal white stripe.  White and blue text.

Norman Thomas (1884-1968), was a Presbyterian minister and leader of the Socialist Party, known for his strong oratory skills and pacifist beliefs. From 1928 to 1948, Thomas was the Socialist Party's nominee for President. Thomas also ran for the offices of governor, mayor, and senator of New York prior to his presidential bids.

Creating the hopeful ticket of George W. Bush and Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Republican National Convention participants donned these buttons. Governor Jeb Bush did not run for Vice President with his brother in 2000 and the official running mate for George W. Bush for President was Dick Cheney for Vice President.

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Illustration of two hands clasped in a handshake in front of a city skyline with black text on a white background.

The Coalition of Black Trade Unionists is a nonprofit organization for African American members of AFL-CIO affiliated trade unions. It was founded in September 1972, when 1200 black union officials and members from 37 national unions met at the LaSalle Hotel in Chicago Illinois to discuss their role and future in the labor movement. The CBTU was officially created at that meeting, and their first convention was held in Washington, D.C. in May 1973. Since then, the CBTU has advocated for several causes, including the rights of women workers, black leadership, and human rights issues. In 1982, the same year as the CBTU's 11th National Convention in Memphis, Tennessee, the Executive Council formed the National Women's Committee, which strives to empower female members of the CBTU to actively participate in improving their unions and their communities. 

Illustration of elephant holding an American flag in its trunk and riding a surfboard that is atop a cresting wave of red stripes and white stars.  White text on the elephant's body, blue and red text on a white and blue background.

The Republican National Convention ran from July 31 - August 3, 2000. The RNC was held at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The convention nominated Texas Governor George W. Bush as their candidate for the November presidential election with his running mate, former Secretary of Defense, Dick Cheney. Bush ran on a platform of compassionate conservatism, education reform, and strong military. He was elected president later that year and served from 2001 to 2009.

Photograph of white two-story house with an inset photograph of Ronald Reagan.  Black text inside a white rectangle on the bottom of the button.

Former president Ronald Wilson Reagan and his family lived in Dixon, Illinois at the house shown here between the years of 1920-1924. In the early 1980s, the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home Preservation Foundation was founded to preserve the house as a historic site. It was restored to its 1920s appearance and opened to the public as a museum in 1984. Since that time, a visitor's center and statue of Reagan has been added to the property. 

Illustration of bald eagle covered by shield with blue stars and red and white stripes.  An olive branch and arrows are gripped in its talons and it is holding a scroll in its beak.  Blue and red text and 5-pointed stars on a white background.

Archie Bunker was a character on the CBS sitcom All in the Family, which ran from 1971 to 1979. Portrayed by Carroll O'Connor, Archie was the blue-collar, curmudgeonly husband to Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton) and father to Gloria (Sally Struthers). Known for his abrasive nature and often bigoted opinions, the character, along with Edith, was one of the most beloved of television and popular American culture in general in the 1970s.

In 1972, All in the Family and its cast of characters were promoted with merchandise as a tie-in with the U.S. presidential election of that year. 

Photograph of Richard Nixon in center with red and black text on a white outer border.

In 1988, comedy writer Gerald Gardner release the book, The Mocking of a President: A History of Campaign Humor From Ike to Ronnie. The book is the first in Gardner's series of works chronicling jokes made by, and about, political candidates, including President Richard Nixon. 

Gardner began publishing political humor in 1966 with the release of the first book in his Who's In Charge Here? series. These works added humorous captions to pictures of politicians. Besides his political books, Gardner is best known for writing the successful 1960s television comedies, Get Smart and The Monkees, along with his writing partner, Dee Caruso.