Blue and white photograph of a man's head and shoulders in the center on a white background with an outer red edge with white letters

After the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson served his first term as the 36th President of the United States. He was reelected for a second term in 1964 when he defeated Arizona State Senator Barry Goldwater. During his time in office, Johnson established the Great Society, a program geared toward the nation's betterment of education, health, and equality, which influenced the creation of some of the most notable legislation in U.S. history such as Voting Rights Act and Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.

Blue and red text on a white button around a U.S. flag in the shape of the United States with a black and white photo of Jimmy Carter's head in the center.

This button was made for the 1976 election to support the campaign of Jimmy Carter, who ran as a Democrat. JC stands for Jimmy Carter, but is also a reference to Jesus Christ. Carter was a Southern Baptist, peanut farmer, and Governor of Georgia who cultivated an image of a Washington outsider and promised never to lie to the American people. He won the election against President Gerald Ford and was the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. As President he pardoned draft resistors, worked for the Camp David Accords which helped relations between Israel and Egypt, and created a Department of Education and Department of Energy. He was seen as a weak President who struggled to work with Congress, although he got a surprising amount done behind the scenes. He got very little credit for his achievements, including the Camp David Accords.

Red, white and blue striped button with blue and red text

In 1956, Dwight (Ike) Eisenhower ran for President of the U.S. He chose as his running mate Richard Nixon. The incumbent Eisenhower ran against Adlai Stevenson, a Democrat who previously lost to Eisenhower in the 1952 election. Eisenhower and Nixon won the 1956 election, with nearly 57% of the popular vote.

Blue text on a white button

This button supports Wendell Wilkie's 1940 campaign against FDR. It refers to Roosevelt's son, Elliot's, commission as a captain in 1940, when he joined the Army Air Corps. Elliot had no previous military experience or college education so Roosevelt's opponents claimed that he pressured the military to make his son an officer, but the General in charge denied it. He and his older brother both became captains without any officer training, which sparked controversy. In response to criticism Elliot said that he enlisted at the lowest rank the army would give him, but his age forced him to accept a captain's commission. He also said he wanted to see action if the United States went to war. Critics claimed that he was too young at 30 to be made a captain when the country was not at war even if he had completed the requirements, which he had not. Elliott's military service was exemplary and criticism for his promotion decreased after the U.S. entered WWII. Elliot's commission became a huge campaign issue in the election because it was seen as abuse of power by the President and his family.

green text on a white button with a cartoon of George Bush with a long nose and a factory spewing smoke in the background

George Bush campaigned in 1988 saying he would be an environmental president and promising to pass the Clean Air Act that Reagan had allowed to expire, and he did. He also regulated wetlands and worked to decrease acid rain. Bush appointed the first environmentalist to head the EPA. Despite these efforts, he was criticized by environmentalists for an energy policy that supported the economy more than the environment. They were concerned that his policies might allow oil drilling in the Alaska wildlife refuge. Bush called for more investigation of Global Warming rather than acting to reduce Carbon emissions even though he had promised to take a strong stance on Global warming in his campaign. Despite his early efforts to protect the environment many environmentalists felt that Bush had betrayed his promise to them as this button indicates. By giving Bush a long nose they invoke the image of Pinocchio whose nose grew with every lie he told.

Red text on a blue and white background with a blue and white photograph of a man's head and shoulders on a white background and a white star on the blue background

Former Minnesota State Senator, Hubert Humphrey Jr. was the running mate of former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson during the 1964 presidential election. With Johnson's presidential victory during that election, Humphrey became the U.S. 38th Vice President. After serving a term in office, Humphrey won the Democratic Party presidential nomination for the U.S. presidential election of 1968, but was defeated by Richard Nixon, former U.S. Vice President under the Eisenhower administration.

black and white photo of Hubert Humphrey on a white button with red text on white on the top and white text on blue on the bottom

This button was made for the 1968 election when Hubert Humphrey ran against Richard Nixon. Humphrey was Lyndon Johnson's Vice President and entered the presidential race after Johnson decided not to run for reelection. He entered the race too late to run in the primaries, but was still chosen to be the presidential nominee because he was supported by politicians who were elected to the Democratic National Convention. Humphrey narrowly lost the general election in part because he could not distance himself from Johnson's policies in the Vietnam War and in part because he did nothing about the protestors in Chicago during the convention who were beaten by the police. Humphrey was an important author of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

black and white picture of Carter's head above a green bar with green vertical text next to the image on a white button

This button supports Jimmy Carter's presidential election campaign. "Hoosier" is a name for a resident of Indiana, which comes from the mid-19th century. Carter was a Southern Baptist, peanut farmer, and Governor of Georgia who cultivated an image of a Washington outsider and promised never to lie to the American people. He won the election against President Gerald Ford and was the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. As President he pardoned draft resistors, worked for the Camp David Accords which helped relations between Israel and Egypt, and created a Department of Education and Department of Energy. He was seen as a weak President who struggled to work with Congress, although he got a surprising amount done behind the scenes. He got very little credit for his achievements, including the Camp David Accords.

Illustration of "Uncle Sam" next to a black and photograph of Richard Nixon on a white background with an outer blue edge and red text

"He's good enough for me in '68" refers to President Nixon's run for President against Democrat Hubert Humphrey and Independent George Wallace in the election of 1968. 

Nixon ran with Spiro Agnew as his Vice President. Nixon had already become famous due to serving as Vice President under Dwight D. Eisenhower and was preparing to run for President since losing the 1960 Presidential election to John F. Kennedy. Nixon ran as the leader of the "silent majority" and promised to help minorities start small businesses. He won by 43% against Humphrey's 42% and became the 37th President of the United States. 

White text on red upper border and blue lower border, illustrated American flag and GOP elephant logo, black-and-white photograph of Bob Dole on white background in center. 

After serving in the United States Army in World War II, Robert "Bob" Dole began his political career when he was elected to the Kansas state House of Representatives in 1950. Dole later represented Kansas in the United States House of Representatives from 1961 to 1969, and in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. Dole was the running mate on incumbent President Gerald Ford's unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1976, and after losing the nomination in 1980 and 1988, Dole became the Republican Party's candidate in the 1996 presidential election. During his campaign, Dole attempted to straddle the divide on gun control issues, between Americans who supported the Brady Law (which required background checks on gun sales and a waiting period) and those who wanted the ban on assault weapons repealed and instant check system. Dole was defeated in the 1996 election by incumbent Bill Clinton. 

Dole is the only person in the history of the two major U.S. political parties to have been a party's nominee for both President and Vice President, but who was never elected to either office