Red text along the top edge wtih three photographs of men's heads on a white background

Seen on the button are John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy, all of whom were civil rights activists and were assassinated. Robert F. Kennedy worked for civil rights for African Americans. John F. Kennedy delivered his Civil Rights Address on June 11, 1963 in which he proposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was also in 1963 that Martin Luther King, Jr. launched a campaign of mass protests in Birmingham, Alabama, and would later delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Both John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy worked together to pass the Civil Rights Act. These three men fought, campaigned, and died for the civil rights of Americans. 

Illustration of a red shield with white text on it on a white cirlce with a dark blue outer edge with white text on it

The Salvation Army was founded in England by William Booth and his wife, Catherine, in 1865. Booth conducted evangelical meetings throughout England, preaching to the poor and destitute. By 1867, The Salvation Army also began to offer a number of social assistance programs. The first meeting of the Salvation Army in the United States was organized by Eliza Shirley and was held in Philadelphia in 1879.

During the First World War, the Salvation Army provided a number of services to aid on the war effort. On the home front, Salvationists organized the collection of linens to be made into bandages and recruited volunteers to help create care packages for those fighting overseas. The Salvation Army also set up service centres next to military bases on the home front which provided canteens, recreational facilities, meeting rooms, libraries, and religious services.

Black text on a yellow background

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Brown text on a yellow background

This button supports the cause of legalizing prostitution; often called the oldest profession in the world. Prostitution is illegal in the United States, with the exception of parts of Nevada, yet it is practiced in every state. There are those who believe that criminalizing prostitution should help to stop it; yet statistics on arrests for prostitution prove otherwise. Others believe that the government should not, and cannot, legislate morals and that no one should be forcibly prevented from acting in any way they choose, provided the acts are not invasive of the free acts of others. Proponents for legalizing prostitution believe that if the act is truly consensual, it is a business transaction and no harm is being done.

Illustration of a bug character in blue white and yellow next to a red and white stop sign on a yellow background with an outer blue edge with white text on it

This button is from the New Jersey agency for Drug Addiction Rehabilitation Enterprise (DARE) which was founded in 1967. DARE was established to help those struggling with drug addiction to live a drug free life with three stages; outreach, residence, and after care. DARE assisted those 16 years old and up with their mission to provide “a way out of the habit.”  

This program should not be confused with Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E) which started in 1983 as a youth education program in California, before eventually providing a curriculum and programs worldwide.

Illustration of a mountain and two palm trees with search lights above on a silver background with white text on top

In 1978, there was a campaign to save the iconic Hollywood sign. The sign originally said, “HOLLYWOODLAND” as built in 1923 to promote a real estate development of the same name. In 1949, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce entered an agreement with Los Angeles Parks and Recreation to repair the sign, but tear down “LAND,” which had seen wear and been subject to destruction from natural events. The sign rapidly deteriorated by the 1970s and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce launched a campaign to restore the sign in 1978. They raised $250,000 to build the replica sign that stands today.
Hollywood Video video stores use the iconic California letters as part of their logo.

White text on a black background

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.

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.