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. 

White text on a brown background.

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Red text on a white background.

The slogan on this button is likely a reference to the song “Just Tell Them That You Saw Me” by Paul Dresser (published in print in 1895 with a recorded release in 1896). The song describes a man approaching a woman he recognizes from childhood in a neighboring town and offering to bring a message home for her. She responds “Just tell them that you saw me,” hoping to improve her sickly condition before returning home herself.

Whitehead & Hoag Co. produced a similar button for Sweet Caporal Cigarettes around the same time featuring the “Just Tell Them That You Saw Me” logo above the cigarette company’s name.

White text with red background

Upon his resignation as a result of his involvement in the June 17, 1972 Watergate Scandal, the call to prosecute former President Richard Nixon became a key issue of debate within the United States. Being the first and only U.S. president to resign from office due to corruption charges, many argued that Nixon should be prosecuted and sentenced for his crimes while in office. However, Nixon's immediate successor, President Gerald Ford granted a full pardon for any and all crimes that Nixon committed. A controversial move, Ford maintained that issuing the pardon was in the best interests of the American people and that the move would allow for the country to move forwards.

Illustration of a white cowboy hat with superimposed black text on a blue background.

Richard B. Ogilvie served as the Sheriff of Cook County from 1963-1967 and in 1969 was elected the 35th Governor of Illinois. But before that he spent time as a Special Assistant to the United States Attorney General to combat Mafia activity in Chicago. This experience led him to pursue anti-Mafia activity after becoming the Sheriff of Cook County. Despite making very little headway into tackling organized crime in Chicago, Ogilvie gained notoriety for his tough-on-crime stance. This became a central issue in his 1968 Gubernatorial campaign, as seen in the Sheriff motif commonly presented in his campaign materials. 

Illustration of a stylized stencil portrait of President Barack Obama in a solid red, blue, and beige color with white text underneath the image.

Designed by American artist, Shepard Fairey, this portrait of Barack Obama came to be an iconic and widely distributed image in association with Obama's 2008 presidential election. The image, which is often portrayed with the words "progress", "hope", or "change" underneath became immediately popular upon its release. In the years since, the image has been hailed as one of the most recognizable symbols of Obama's campaign message. As a result of its popularity, Obama personally sent a letter of thanks to Fairey, expressing his appreciation for the support.

Portraits of Eugene V. Debs on the left and Emil Seidel on the right set against a red background with text on the top and bottom

In the 1912 United States presidential election, the Socialist Party of America nominated Eugene V. Debs as their nominee for President. Having already run in the same election in 1900, 1904, and 1908, Debs was hailed as a leading figure of socialist ideals and values within the United States. For the election, Debs selected Milwaukee's mayor at the time, Emil Seidel, be his running mate. Holding the distinction of being the first Socialist mayor of a major city in the United States, Seidel was seen as a logical and popular choice for the role of Vice President. The election would see Debs and Seidel face off against Woodrow Wilson of the Democratic party, William Howard Taft of the Republican Party, and also former President, Theodore Roosevelt, who after failing to receive the Republican nomination called for his own convention and created the Progressive Party, for which he was the nominee. In the end, Wilson emerged as the winner of the election. Debs, meanwhile, received 6% of the popular vote, his highest ever as a candidate. He would go on to run once more in the 1920 election, where he campaigned from prison as a result of his vocal opposition to the United States role in World War I.