Blue text on a white background

Have info on this button? Contact us here.

Red and blue text on white background with red and blue illustration of a cardinal in the center. 

Robert C. Byrd was a United States Senator from West Virginia. The cardinal on this button may be a play on Byrd's last name, or it could refer to his work with Amtrak to keep the Cardinal train route operating along the old historic Chesapeake and Ohio main line that runs through West Virginia. Byrd was born Cornelius Calvin Sale, Jr. in 1917, but following his mother's death in the 1918 flu pandemic, he was adopted by his aunt and uncle, who changed his name to Robert Carlyle Byrd. Byrd served in the United States House of Representatives from 1953 to 1959, and in the Senate from 1959 until his death in 2010. 

White text on a blue stripe with blue text on a white background above and below

Hubert Humphrey was first elected to the United States Senate as a representative of Minnesota in 1948. Humphrey's proposal to end racial segregation was included in the Democratic party platform at the national convention in the same year. Before he became a politician, Humphrey worked in his father's pharmacy, but dreamed of becoming an academic. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1939 from the University of Minnesota followed by his master's degree from Louisiana State University in 1940, and then returned to the University of Minnesota as an instructor and a doctoral student. Humphrey then became involved in local politics and did not finish his PhD. Despite pressure from then-President Harry Truman's aides to keep civil rights issues out of the Convention in 1948, Humphrey represented a minority portion of the Democratic Party when he spoke, calling for federal legislation against lynching, stopping legal segregation in the schools of the South, and ending job discrimination based on skin color. The minority platform was adopted, and Truman was aided in his re-election bid by gaining support from black voters. 

As a Senator, Humphrey introduced the Peace Corps bill in 1957, and a bill in 1960 to establish a National Peace Agency. He was the lead author of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and served as Democratic whip in the same year. Humphrey's colleagues nicknamed him "The Happy Warrior". When 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. Humphrey's bid for President in 1968 was unsuccessful, but he returned to the Senate in 1971, serving until his death in 1978. 

Blue text on a white stripe with white text on a red background above and below

Hubert Humphrey was the Democratic Party's nominee in the 1968 presidential election. Humphrey served twice as Minnesota's representative in the United States Senate, from 1949 to 1964 and again from 1971 to 1978. Before becoming a politician, Humphrey helped to run his father's pharmacy, earned a master's degree and taught political science at Louisiana State University and Macalester College. Humphrey was elected as the mayor of Minneapolis in 1945, and elected as a Senator in 1948. Humphrey was the lead author of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and introduced the first initiative to create the Peace Corps. 

When 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. After Johnson decided not to run for re-election in 1968, Humphrey launched his campaign and secured the Democratic Party's nomination after 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 Humphrey's campaign, and he lost to Richard Nixon in the general election. 

Green text on a white background

Wilbur Huckle was a minor league baseball prospect for the New York Mets in the 1960's. Despite never making it onto the major league roster, Huckle attracted a following. Fans began appearing at Shea Stadium in 1964, the building's inaugural season, wearing "Huckle for President" pins. Huckle was known for his red hair and freckles, and went on to manage the Batavia Trojans in the New York-Penn league for three seasons after his playing career was over. The slogan "Extremism in Defense of the Mets is No Vice" was a twist on a quote from 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater's nomination acceptance speech, where he said, "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice." 

Green text on a white background

In 1948, Republican incumbents Governor Dwight Green and Senator Charles (Curly) Brooks ran for re-election in Illinois. Green was elected Governor in 1941 and served two terms in office. Green had served as U.S. Attorney General for Illinois from 1931-1935, and participated in the fight against organized crime in Chicago, helping to prosecute Al Capone for tax evasion. The 1947 coal mine explosion in Centralia, Illinois in which 111 miners died was blamed on Green’s neglect of previous requests from minors for greater safety measures at the mine. It was also revealed that Green’s administration had elicited political contributions from mine owners during this period. Green was defeated in the 1948 election by Adlai Stevenson.

Charles (Curly) Brooks served as Republican Senator from 1940-1949, and was strongly supported by the Chicago Tribune.  Brooks was a Marine veteran of WWI, and law professor at Northwestern University. Brooks was defeated in the 1948 election by Paul Douglas.

White text and blue stars on a red white and blue background

Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater was the Republican Party's nominee in the 1964 presidential election. His main rival in the primary elections was Norman Rockefeller, governor of New York. Goldwater selected William Miller, a little-known Congressman from New York, as his running mate. Goldwater stated that he chose Miller because he "drove [incumbent President] Johnson nuts". 

During the general election campaign, the Republican party was divided between its more moderate and liberal faction, based in the Northeast, and the more conservative side, located primarily in the South and West. Conservatives who supported Goldwater were resentful of how the moderate and Northeasterners had dominated the party. They preferred a smaller federal government and lower taxes, opposing social welfare programs. Moderate Republicans were concerned with Goldwater's rhetoric on nuclear weapons and some Americans considered him to be a dangerous extremist. 

Incumbent President Lyndon Johnson defeated the Goldwater/Miller ticket in a landslide on Election Day, carrying 44 of 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

White text on a red, white and blue background 

Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater was the Republican Party's nominee in the 1964 presidential election. His main rival in the primary elections was Norman Rockefeller, governor of New York. Goldwater selected William Miller, a little-known Congressman from New York, as his running mate. Goldwater stated that he chose Miller because he "drove [incumbent President] Johnson nuts". 

During the general election campaign, the Republican party was divided between its more moderate and liberal faction, based in the Northeast, and the more conservative side, located primarily in the South and West. Conservatives who supported Goldwater were resentful of how the moderate and Northeasterners had dominated the party. They preferred a smaller federal government and lower taxes, opposing social welfare programs. Moderate Republicans were concerned with Goldwater's rhetoric on nuclear weapons and some Americans considered him to be a dangerous extremist. 

Incumbent President Lyndon Johnson defeated the Goldwater/Miller ticket in a landslide on Election Day, carrying 44 of 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

Red and blue text on a gold background with a black and white photograph of a man's head in the center

Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater was the Republican Party's nominee in the 1964 presidential election. Goldwater's political career began when he was elected to the City Council in Phoenix in 1949. He helped to rebuild the Republican Party in Arizona and contributed a great deal to the election of Howard Pyle as governor in 1950. He first won a Senate seat in 1952, upsetting the Senate Majority leader Ernest McFarland. Goldwater defeated McFarland again in 1958, during a year in which Democrats gained 13 seats in the Senate. He gave up his bid for re-election to the Senate in 1964 to pursue the presidency. 

During the general election campaign, the Republican party was divided between its more moderate and liberal faction, based in the Northeast, and the more conservative side, located primarily in the South and West. Conservatives who supported Goldwater were resentful of how the moderate and Northeasterners had dominated the party. They preferred a smaller federal government and lower taxes, opposing social welfare programs. Moderate Republicans were concerned with Goldwater's rhetoric on nuclear weapons and some Americans considered him to be a dangerous extremist. 

Incumbent President Lyndon Johnson defeated the Goldwater/Miller ticket in a landslide on Election Day, carrying 44 of 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

Red text on a white background around a blue and white photograph of General MacArthur

This button was likely worn by supporters of General MacArthur's bids for the presidency in 1944 and 1948. Douglas MacArthur was a career military man, rising to the rank of five-star general officer, the second-highest possible rank in the United States Army. MacArthur graduated at the top of his United States Military Academy at West Point class in 1903, became the Army's youngest major general in 1925, and then Chief of Staff of the United States Army in 1930. General MacArthur retired in 1937 to become the Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines, but was recalled to active duty in 1941 to defend the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. 

MacArthur and his staff escaped to Australia from the province of Bataan in March of 1942, and famously said to General Richard Sutherland, "It was close; but that's the way it is in war. You win or lose, live or die — and the difference is just an eyelash." In 1944, some members of the Republican Party supported nominating General MacArthur for President, but as he was actively leading forces, he could not campaign for the nomination. MacArthur's supporters entered his name in the Wisconsin primary election, where he did win three delegates. At the convention, New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey easily won the party's nomination. 

General MacArthur officially accepted Japan's surrender in September 1945, and was effectively the interim leader of the country until 1948, overseeing its reconstruction. He ran again for the Republican Party's nomination for President in 1948, and was again defeated by Thomas Dewey. MacArthur was relieved of his command by President Harry S. Truman in 1951, after MacArthur communicated with Congress about his plans to further escalate the Korean War. The majority of the public did not agree with the decision, and Truman's approval ratings fell. MacArthur advised Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, before he passed away in 1964.