White button with red text.

Lyndon Baines Johnson became the 36th President of the United States on November 22, 1963 after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Johnson was a Democrat from Texas who served as a U.S. Representative and Senator before becoming the Vice President under Kennedy. Johnson successfully ran for reelection in 1964 and was eligible to run for another term in 1968, but he decided not to seek another term. His decision was likely based on his failing health and his low approval ratings, which were largely due to his controversial Vietnam policies and the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

black and white picture of Johnson on a white button with white text on red

This button was made for the 1964 election where Lyndon Baines Johnson won a landslide victory over Barry Goldwater. Johnson was sometimes known as LBJ, and the slogan on this button shares these initials. Johnson was the 36th President of the United States from 1963, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated, until 1969 when he declined to run for reelection. As President, Johnson was sometimes abrasive, but effectively convinced Congress to pass the bills he supported. He was famous for his "Great Society" and "War on Poverty" which helped poor Americans and people of color. He pushed through the Civil Rights Act of 1964, created the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and increased spending on public education. Johnson also escalated the Vietnam War, which increased criticism from liberals, at the same time that riots in major cities increased opposition to his policies from conservatives.

Red and blue button with white lettering. A white stripe divides the red and blue halves with red writing and a photo of LBJ is in the middle on top of a white United States. 

A year after succeeding John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat, ran for President during the 1964 U.S. election, defeating Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater and becoming the 37th President of the United States. Under his presidency, Johnson developed the Great Society, a series of governmental programming dedicated to promoting equality, education, rural and urban development, healthcare, and the fight against poverty. The Voting Rights Act and Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 are two notable legislation that Johnson passed during his term.

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.