Parallel red and blue stripes in center of button with blue text between them on a white background.

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. 

Illustration of Uncle Sam gesturing to inset portrait photographs of George and Barbara Bush on an illustrated background of the American flag in red, blue, gold and silver.

The 1992 National Convention of the Republican Party was held in Houson Texas from August 17-20, 1992. Over the weekend, the Republican Party officially nominated incumbent president George H.W. Bush and incumbent vice president Dan Quayle for the November presidential election. This marked Bush's fourth consecutive presidential ticket, although he would go on to lose the election to Democratic nominees Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Bush's wife, Barbara, and his family accompanied him to the convention, making several public appearances. 

Image of Jimmy Carter with white text in the red outer edge on top and blue edge on the bottom, and black text in the white edges in the middle 

The 1980 National Convention for the U.S. Democratic Party was held from August 11 to August 14. Seeking a second term in office, President Jimmy Carter was once more the official Democratic nominee while Carter's Vice President, Walter Mondale, also received his nomination to continue on in his position. Though Carter did win the nomination, his success getting there was often left in doubt. Though Carter was the incumbent president, his term was beleaguered by numerous issues, including a poor national economy as well as an unresolved hostage situation in Iran. Carter's chief rival for the nomination was Massachusetts Senator, Ted Kennedy. Brother to former President, John F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy was seen by many as a natural leader for the future of the Democratic Party. Regardless, Kennedy was unsuccessful in his attempts and Carter managed to achieve the nomination. However, Carter would go on to lose the election to the Republican candidate, Ronald Reagan.

Blue text on a white background with inset portrait photograph of Jimmy Carter bordered by red fleur-de-lis.  Illustration of unrolled blue scroll with white text along bottom of button.  White text on blue outer border.

Voters elected Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, as the 39th president of the United States in 1976 over Republican candidate Gerald Ford. Carter was the Democratic nominee for president in 1980 as well. Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy was Carter’s main rival at the 1980 Democratic National Convention. Senator William Proxmire of Wisconsin also competed for the nomination. Carter received 64.04 percent of the votes compared to Kennedy’s 34.72 percent and Proxmire’s 0.3 percent. Carter lost the 1980 election to former California Governor Ronald Reagan and his running mate George H.W. Bush. After losing the election, Carter returned to his hometown of Plains, Georgia, and his peanut farm.

Photograph of George H.W. Bush with text appearing to his right.

For the 1988 United States presidential election, incumbent Vice President, George H.W. Bush served as the Republican nominee in the race. Choosing Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana as his running mate, Bush faced off against the Democrats nominee, Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts. Capitalizing on Reagan's popularity as well as benefiting from a Dukakis's campaign that suffered many miscues, Bush would go on to win in a landslide victory. Securing 426 electoral votes versus Dukakis's 111, no candidate since has managed to equal or surpass Bush's number of electoral votes nor his popular vote percentage of 53.4%

Portrait photograph of Ronald and Nancy Reagan.
 

Ronald Reagan was the 40th President of the United States. He was president for two consecutive terms from 1981-1989. Before becoming President, Ronald Reagan was an actor and later became governor of California,1967-75,  before throwing his hat into the Presidential ring. He married Nancy Davis, who was also an actress and a dancer in 1952.

Mrs. Reagan was known to be outspoken, and was well known for her Just say No to Drugs campaign.  They were married for 52 years until his death in 2004. Nancy Reagan hosted 56 state dinners during her husband's presidency.

Photograph of Nelson Rockefeller's head superimposed over a yellow illustrated silhouette of the state of New York.  Blue text on a light yellow background.

Nelson Rockefeller served as the 49th Governor of New York from 1959-1973. His policies surrounding civil rights, the environment, and abortion rights put him to the left, politically, than most of his fellow Republican party members. The term “Rockefeller Republicans” was quickly coined to describe the sect of Republicans that resonated with more liberal views. Some of his chief accomplishments are increasing the number of minorities and women in state government by 50%, the establishment of 55 new state parks, and the construction and expansion of over 22,000 miles of highway throughout the state. However, his war on crime led to the implementation of controversial police policies such as ‘Stop and Frisk’ which gave police the rights to temporarily detain, question, and search for contraband any individual deemed suspect. In 1974, Rockefeller would go on to serve as Gerald Ford’s Vice President and then in 1979 succumbed to a heart attack and passed away in his home. 

Illustration of a peanut dressed to resemble Napoleon with brown text on top and green text on the bottom.

This button depicts a caricature of Jimmy Carter as a peanut dressed to resemble Napoleon Bonaparte, the former Emperor of France. Prior to his career in politics, President Carter and his family famously had a peanut-growing business. As a result, numerous illustrations portraying Carter as a peanut have been used in both positive and negative ways throughout his political career. Furthermore, the comparison to Napoleon and the mention of Waterloo is in reference to the Battle of Waterloo, which saw Napoleon and his forces lose to British and Prussian forces, ending his reign and domination over Europe. In the aftermath of the battle, Napoleon abdicated the throne and was later forced into exile. For the 1980 U.S. election, Republican opponents of Carter used the comparison to Napoleon to illustrate their desire to see Carted leave the presidency in favor of their candidate, Ronald Reagan.​

Line drawing of the Great Seal of the United States with black text on a white background and a red outer border.

Evans Seeley stated that the history of Christmas at the White House started with George Washington. Even though our nation’s first President did not live in the White House, he started the social custom of the New Year’s Day reception. This event was carried to the White House by John Adams with the event continuing to be open to the public and allowing anyone to shake hands with the President. The White House has continued the tradition of celebrating and publishing their holiday events through many iterations including photographs, television programs, social media posts, and merchandise.

Black and white photograph of a Bobby Hutton's head

Bobby Hutton, born in 1950, became the first member of the Black Panther Party and eventually rose to become its treasurer. At 18, Hutton was involved in an ambush of Oakland Police to get revenge after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., only two days prior. After a 90 minute shootout, the Panthers surrendered. During the arrest process, Hutton was shot 12 times by police leading to him becoming a martyr for the movement. An unofficial holiday has been celebrated in Hutton’s honor in Oakland Park annually since 1998.