Ike Nixon

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Text on Button IKE NIXON
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White text on a red, white and blue background

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union bugs

Curl Text union bug
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In 1952, World War II veteran Dwight D. Eisenhower (Ike) ran for President of the United States on the Republican ticket. California congressman Richard Nixon was Eisenhower's Vice President nominee. In both 1952 and 1956, they won and had what is considered one of the best administrations of the 20th century.

Under Eisenhower, the interstate highway system was created, the quality of life for middle-class white Americans improved, and Alaska and Hawaii were added to the Union. Nixon devoted nearly his entire eight years to foreign policy affairs. His most famous event being an impromptu debate with Soviet Premiere Nikita Khrushchev in Moscow known as "The Kitchen Debate." 

Catalog ID PO0599

Humphrey Muskie Stars

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Text on Button Humphrey Muskie
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White text on red upper half background and blue lower half background with band of blue stars on white background in center. 

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A former mayor of Minneapolis and a Minnesota Senator, Hubert Humphrey served as Vice President of the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson, from 1964 to 1968. Johnson originally planned to run for re-election in 1968 and Humphrey was tasked with campaigning for him, but Johnson decided to drop out of the race after polls showed growing support for challengers Senator Eugene McCarthy from Minnesota and Senator Robert F. Kennedy from New York.  Humphrey announced his candidacy in April 1968 and positioned himself as the conservative Democrat versus Kennedy and McCarthy, already gaining momentum before Senator Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles on June 6, 1968. McCarthy was then seen as the peace candidate, while Humphrey was perceived as representing President Johnson's pro-war view on the conflict in Vietnam. 

Despite entering the race too late to compete in the primary elections, Humphrey won his party's nomination at the Democratic National Convention held in Chicago in August 1968. He selected Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine as his running mate. Humphrey and Muskie ran against the Republican Party's ticket of Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew in the general election, but Humphrey was unable to separate himself from the Johnson administration, and was defeated by Nixon on Election Day. 

Catalog ID PO0569

Humphrey Muskie Dark Blue

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Text on Button Humphrey Muskie
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Blue text on white background in center, red upper third and blue lower third. 

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A former mayor of Minneapolis and a Minnesota Senator, Hubert Humphrey served as Vice President of the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson, from 1964 to 1968. Johnson originally planned to run for re-election in 1968 and Humphrey was tasked with campaigning for him, but Johnson decided to drop out of the race after polls showed growing support for challengers Senator Eugene McCarthy from Minnesota and Senator Robert F. Kennedy from New York.  Humphrey announced his candidacy in April 1968 and positioned himself as the conservative Democrat versus Kennedy and McCarthy, already gaining momentum before Senator Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles on June 6, 1968. McCarthy was then seen as the peace candidate, while Humphrey was perceived as representing President Johnson's pro-war view on the conflict in Vietnam. 

Despite entering the race too late to compete in the primary elections, Humphrey won his party's nomination at the Democratic National Convention held in Chicago in August 1968. He selected Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine as his running mate. Humphrey and Muskie ran against the Republican Party's ticket of Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew in the general election, but Humphrey was unable to separate himself from the Johnson administration, and was defeated by Nixon on Election Day. 

Catalog ID PO0570

Humphrey Muskie

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Text on Button HUMPHREY MUSKIE
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Blue and red text on a white stripe with red and blue above and below

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Former Vice-President Hubert Humphrey and Maine Senator Edmund Muskie made up the Democratic Party ticket in the 1968 presidential election. After Lyndon B. Johnson inherited the presidency following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, he chose Humphrey to be his running mate against Republican Barry Goldwater. The Johnson/Humphrey ticket was elected in a landslide in 1964. Prior to serving as Vice-President, Humphrey was elected as mayor of Minneapolis in 1945 and served as Minnesota's representative in the United States Senate, from 1949 to 1964.

After Johnson decided not to run for re-election in 1968, Humphrey launched his campaign and secured the Democratic Party's nomination, partially through his strategy of avoiding the primary elections against fellow Democrats Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy. The assassinations of Robert Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., combined with increased opposition to the Vietnam War, were harmful to the Humphrey/Muskie ticket, and they lost to Richard Nixon in the general election. 

After the 1968 election, Humphrey taught at Macalester College and University of Minnesota, before returning to the Senate in 1976, and remained in office until his death in 1978. Muskie was a candidate for the Democratic nomination in 1972, and returned to the Senate in 1974 before serving as Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1980 to 1981. 

Catalog ID PO0596

Robinson

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Text on Button ROBINSON
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Black and white photograph of a man with white text underneath

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MANUFACTURED BY THE AMERICAN ART WORKS
COSHOCTON OHIO

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Joseph Taylor Robinson was the running mate of Alfred E. Smith in the 1928 United States presidential campaign. His pairing with Smith became the first time since the Civil War to feature a southern representative for national office, and the first time in history that a Catholic won a presidential nomination. The 1928 presidential race encouraged future Catholic and southern candidates such as John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. 

Robinson is known for the impassioned speeches about the country on behalf of Smith and the Democratic platform. In 1933, he became the first Democratic Senate majority leader. He is dubbed the “fightingest” man in the U.S. Senate because he defeated all challengers during his time in the Senate. 

Sources

United States Senate. (n.d.). Joseph T. Robinson: The “fightingest” man in the U.S. senate. Senate leaders. Retrieved June 7, 2021, from https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/People_Leaders_Robinson.htm

Catalog ID PO0572

Townsend for Governor

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Text on Button TOWNSEND FOR GOVERNOR
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Black and white photograph of a man's head and shoulders with black text above and below

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ST. LOUIS BUTTON CO. MFGS ST. LOUIS, MO

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Maurice Clifford Townsend (1884–1954) served as the Governor of Indiana from 1937 to 1941.  Prior to his role as Governor, Townsend served as a school superintendent and the Lieutenant Governor. "Cliff" Townsend was credited with having all school buses painted yellow for instant identification. At the 1936 Democratic state convention, Townsend's mother placed his name in nomination for governor. The convention was bitterly divided between three candidates and a fist-fight broke out before the final vote took place. In the general election Townsend defeated Republican, Raymond Springer by over 180,000 votes.

Shortly after Townsend’s inauguration, the Midwest was engulfed in torrential rains which caused the Ohio River to rise 19 feet above flood stage in Indiana. The Great Flood of 1937 left 100 million people homeless, and 385 dead.  Townsend was praised by National Relief Administrator, Harry Hopkins for his administration of resources during the disaster.  Townsend retired from politics after an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate in 1946. 

Catalog ID PO0573

Orange and White Win

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Text on Button WIN
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White text on an orange background

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“Win” is to be victorious. It is a fusion of the Old English word “winnan” which means “to work at or struggle for,” and the word “gewinnan” which means “to succeed by struggling.” Winnan and gewinnan are both from the Proto-Germanic word “wennanan” which means “to seek to gain.”
 

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Catalog ID PO574

Park for Governor

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Text on Button Judge Guy B. Park for Governor
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White text on a red background and red text on a white stripe across the center

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ST LOUIS BUTTON CO MFRS

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Guy Brasfield Park (1872-1946) was the Democratic governor of Missouri from 1933-1937.  Governor Park earned his law degree from the University of Missouri, and worked as a lawyer in Denver, Colorado for a short time before returning to Platte County, Missouri in 1900 where he began a life in public service as the City Attorney.  He was a member of the Missouri State Constitutional Convention in 1922, and a Fifth Judicial Circuit Judge from 1923-1932. 

As Governor, Park helped establish state relief programs which coordinated with federal programs instituted by the Roosevelt administration during the Depression.  In his honor, Platte County established the Guy B. Park Conservation Area, which is a wildlife preserve offering bird watching, fishing, hiking and hunting to visitors. 

Catalog ID PO0171

McMahon is the Man

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Text on Button FOR PRESIDENT McMAHON IS THE MAN
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Blue text on a white stripe with white text on a blue background above and below

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Senator Brien McMahon (D) made a name for himself through chairing the Senate Special Committee on Atomic Energy, and he wrote the Atomic Energy Act of 1946. He announced his candidacy for the Democrat presidential nomination on May 1, 1952. His campaign slogan was, “The Man is McMahon,” and his main platform was to insure world peace through atomic weapons. Sadly, he died on July 28, 1952. Connecticut held a special election to fill McMahon’s vacant seat, won by Prescott Bush, father and grandfather of Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush respectively. McMahon is memorialized in a stamp, a high school, and a residence hall at the University of Connecticut.

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Catalog ID PO0589

Save America Vote Democrat

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Text on Button Save America Vote Democrat President Hubert Humphrey Vice President Edmund Muskie
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Jugate with two black and white photographs of men in suits with red banners above and below and white text and an outer blue illustration of garland and blue text on a white background

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Hubert Humphrey and Edmund Muskie were the Democratic nominees for the 1968 Presidential Election. Humphrey entered the race after the primaries and ran against Eugene McCarthy and Robert F. Kenned to seek the Democratic nomination.  With the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., and the escalating conflict in Vietnam, the 1968 race became very controversial for the American people and the candidates.

At the Democratic National Convention, Senator George McGovern stepped up to run as Robert Kennedy’s successor.  In Chicago, police and the National Guard worked to contain the rioting outside the convention.  Humphrey won the nomination on the first ballot, and chose Senator Edmund Muskie from Maine as his running mate.  Six foot four-inch tall Muskie was often compared to Abraham Lincoln.  In a close race, the pair narrowly lost the election to Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew. 

Catalog ID PO0534