Illustration of a black gun with a red "No" symbol over it with black text above and below on a white background

The image on this button comes from no gun zone signs used to advise people of local gun laws and where they cannot bring their guns. "Real men" jokes about the extreme masculinity that became common in the 1980s. This button plays on these jokes to convince men not to carry or use handguns. The phrase "real men don't" was heavily used by gun control advocates in the 1990s to convince men not to shoot people, especially innocent people, because owning a gun was seen as masculine. This button singles out handguns because they are not usually used for hunting.

Illustration of three missiles with orange text on a white background.

In the 1980s many movies explored the fears of nuclear war with the Soviet Union. The quote "Nuclear war: strange game, the only way to win is not to play" comes from the movie War Games (1983) starring Mathew Broderick. In this movie a teenage boy hacks a military computer looking for a video game and almost starts WWIII. This line comes from the computer, when it finally understands there is no way to win the "game" nuclear war. The quote means that no matter who wins a nuclear war everyone will lose because the level of destruction is so huge.

Blue and red text on a white background

This button is from the 1940 presidential campaign of Republican Wendell Willkie. He was a lawyer, corporate executive, and volunteered for the Army during World War I, but the war ended before he ever made it to the front. In the 1940 election, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (and fellow Republican) was running for an unprecedented third term and Willkie’s campaign relied heavily on “going negative” against FDR. Originally, Willkie held strong interventionist views concerning the war in Europe, as did President Roosevelt; but, as his campaign efforts ramped up, Willkie started to spout isolationist opinions and took to calling Roosevelt a warmonger.

The slogan on the button reflects the belief that if the American people elected the current president for a third term, he would eventually become just another dictator. After losing the election, Willkie urged those who had voted for him not to oppose Roosevelt on all issues, but to give him support where it was called for.

Illustration of a white star surrounded by light blue, then a band of white with blue text, a blue outer line, and a white outer edge 

The Near East Foundation is a New York based international social and economic foundation. Founded in 1915 as the Near East Relief, it was the second organization to be chartered by a congressional act. It organized the first modern large-scale humanitarian effort during the Armenian Genocide. Today, the Near East Foundation strives to build more sustainable and inclusive communities in the Middle East and Africa through education, community organization, and economic development. 

Illustration of zebras blended into a bar code symbol with black text above and below on a white background

The barcode on this button represents commercial products which are tracked with barcodes. Barcodes are used in most stores to track products and restock. The zebra represents endangered species that cannot be brought back if they become extinct. The message is about the importance that people place on commercial products, which are easily restocked, rather than endangered species, which are not.

Light green text on a dark green background

Emma Goldman is considered a major figure in American history for her radicalism and feminism. She is known as an influential anarchist of her day. She advocated for free speech, birth control, women’s equality and independence, and union organizations. In 1917, she was sentenced to two years in jail for conspiracy. Soon after she was released she was arrested again and deported back to her native country, Russia. Throughout her life, Goldman had gained attention as a free-thinker. She completed writings and gave lectures on a variety of issues, such as prisons, atheism, freedom of speech, capitalism, and more. One of her more popular quotes is “The most violent element in society is ignorance.”

Illustration of three young boys playing with matches with an image of a firefighter's head (the character Fireman Gus) floating above them among clouds with a white box with black text on a blue background

The character of “Fireman Gus” depicted on this button may have been inspired by the character of “Gus the Fireman” on the 1950s television show Leave It To Beaver. Fireman Gus was trademarked in 1986 and appeared on buttons, badges, watches, bookmarks, and coloring books to promote fire safety among young children. Fireman Gus is most often seen on Ross Fire Products, a company dedicated to serving the fire prevention and life safety needs of educators and firemen. Their catalogs are only available to public safety departments, fire departments, fire rescue departments and EMS’; they are not available to the public.

Illustration of a black hanger with a thick red line across it and red text around the outer edge on a white background

The slogan "Keep Abortion Safe and Legal" is used by organizations that are concerned with the constant struggle to keep abortions safe and legal. NARAL Pro-Choice America is an example of such an organization that is trying to maintain these rights for women. Even after Roe v. Wade there are "Anti-choice" groups that oppose abortion. Organizations like NARAL try to overcome "anti-choice" groups and believe that women shouldn't have to resort to dangerous or fatal options.

Green text on a white background with an illustration of a white and yellow flower

Abortion Reform refers to the movement in the 1960s that began after Gerri Santoro died after an illegal abortion, causing the issue of abortion and women's health laws to become a prominent topic in media and law. The anti-abortion or "pro-life" movement began as a response to the rise of second-wave feminism in the 1960s, in which feminists argued that abortion's illegality removed a woman's autonomy over her own body. Several states including Pennsylvania, California, and Massachusetts started chapters of the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) by 1970 in order to monitor abortion legislation. The movement did not truly gain national prominence until 1973 when the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that a woman's right to an abortion could not be restricted by the government. The landmark case was a major blow to the pro-life movement and motivated anti-abortion activists to mobilize and transform abortion into a political issue.

The pro-life movement has been overwhelmingly Christian, and is governed by the belief that life begins at conception and abortion results in the termination of that life. Throughout the 1970s, the NRLC and other pro-life organizations attempted to pass several bills that would have reversed the Supreme Court's ruling, but were unsuccessful. Today, their goals involve state-by-state legislation limiting the situations in which abortions are possible with the ultimate goal still being the repeal of Roe v. Wade.

Photograph of an industrial building with white and blue text on top of it

The Socialist Workers Party is a U.S. far-left political party that works to completely overthrow capitalism to preserve the rights of workers. Its newspaper and website, Socialist Worker, focuses on labor struggles that are often ignored by mainstream media; they strive to share workers’ experiences and opinions with a wider audience. Not only are they interested in promoting workers’ rights, they have been active in other social movements, including ending the South African apartheid in the 1980s and working for LGBT equality.