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

Black and white photographs of two men's heads on a white background with blue and red text

In 1964, Republican Barry Goldwater ran for president against incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson. Goldwater's main goal for America was to shift the power and control coming from Washington D.C. into the hands of the citizens. He also wanted to crack down on communism. Due to his conservative views, which were mostly in line with his party, his opponents made him look like an extremist.

William E. Miller was Goldwater's pick for Vice President. Miller was a former district attorney from New York who served in the House of Representatives from 1951-1965. He was also the chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1961-1964.

Goldwater and Miller lost to Johnson, only winning six states and 38% of the popular vote.

White button with white text on the top with a red background and white text on the bottom with a blue background. The center features a black and white photograph of Carter and Mondale. 

This button was made for the 1976 election to support the campaign of Jimmy Carter, who ran as a Democrat. 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.

White text on a red and blue outer edge and a black and white photograph on a white background

This button may have been produced for the Committee to Re-Elect the President, a fundraising organization for President Richard Nixon's administration . The acronym for the organization is CRP, but was mocked with the use of CREEP. CRP was known for its involvement with the Watergate scandal in addition to its fundraising activities. 

Richard Nixon was the Vice-President under President Dwight Eisenhower from 1953 to 1961. He was elected as President in 1968. In 1972, the Democratic Party nominated South Dakota Senator George McGovern as their candidate to run against the incumbent Nixon. This was the first election in which the 26th Constitutional Amendment was in effect, allowing citizens to vote at the age of 18. McGovern ran on an anti-war platform, but Nixon was re-elected in a landslide. The break-in at the Watergate Hotel happened during July of the election year, but the resulting investigation did not lead Nixon to resign until 1974.