White and yellow text on a blue background

Illustration of a black and white ship in blue water with figures of people in it and red text along the top outer edge on a white background

"Ship of State" was originally used in an 1850 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, praising the strength and flexibility of the American government. The phrase was later used by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a note to Winston Churchill in 1941. The phrase today has a similar meaning, and has sometimes been used to question or praise the stability of governments. 

Illustration of a hand grabbing barbed wire with white text above and below the image

The quote on this button is attributed to author George Orwell and many people believe that it is from his most famous novel 1984; however, this quote does not appear anywhere in the novel or in any of his other works. Currently, there is no substantive evidence that he wrote or said this quote. The quote was attributed to Orwell in its earliest known appearance in 1982 and evolved into a handful of variants. The origin is unclear, but it is possible that the statement began as a proposed summary of Orwell’s position, and it was later incorrectly converted to a quotation.

Illustration of a yellow t-shirt with red text on it surrounded by a black circle with a line across it on a white background with red, yellow and black text

This button is most likely related to the student anti-sweatshop movement which really started to gain momentum in the late 1990s as it moved westward from East Coast colleges and universities, eventually encompassing more than 100 campuses across the country. Students protested the fact that multinational apparel corporations were making huge profits selling clothes with college names and logos, while they persistently violated the rights of garment workers who made the products. Protesters worked to force schools to require basic worker rights standards of all the corporations producing school apparel. The anti-sweatshop movement was the largest wave of student activism to hit campuses since students rallied to free Nelson Mandela.

Illustration of a rocket coming up out of clouds over wavy blue lines and with a black sky and blue and white text

Trident is a British nuclear weapons system that is made up of four submarines, which launch ballistic missiles. The first Trident, known as Trident I, was deployed in 1979, but retired in 2005. Trident II was deployed in 1990 and was planned to serve for thirty year, lasting until 2027. There are campaigns that want to stop the use of nuclear systems, such as the CND, or the “Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.” “No to Trident,” is one of their ongoing, non-violent campaigns to help achieve British nuclear disarmament. On February 27, 2016, the CND will host the march and rally “Stop Trident,” which takes place in London. 

Red, white, green and yellow text on a black background

This is a button designed to promote social justice, specifically to end racism globally. The colors on the button are Pan-African colors taken from flags of various African countries and are used to represent Pan-Africanist ideology.   

Illustration of a windmill in front of a large golden sun on a black background

Green alternative energy sources including wind and solar power have been seen as an alternative to fossil fuels and many advocates have supported these renewable resources over the years.

Although the photovoltaic (PV) effect was discovered by French physicist A.E. Becquerel in 1839, the first solar cell was not built until 1883 by a different physicist, Charles Fritts. During the oil crisis of the 1970s, renewable energy became a hot topic as public interest in the dwindling supply of oil brought attention to the issue. Even oil companies including Shell, BP and Mobil, began to invest in solar research.

Sailboats and ships have been harnessing the power of wind for over 5500 years. In the early 1970s and continuing through the mid-1980s, the United States government worked with the wind power industry to help create the first government funded renewable wind resources, wind turbines. NASA developed a utility-scale wind turbine for the United States and set prototypes to start gathering data before a commercial release. With the cost of solar cells at $20 in the 1970s, many consumers looked towards cheaper power sources and considered wind energy as a low-cost alternative.

Based in Hampton, Connecticut, Kate Donnelly and Clay Colt established their family-run company in 1975 as a way to promote the progressive movement with printed materials, stickers, buttons, shirts, and flags.

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There are multiple proverbs on silence, for instance “Silence is the Voice of Complicity” is a Latin proverb. The idea behind this proverb is that if one is not objecting out loud, or with actions, then you are silently agreeing, or allowing something to happen. Some believe that by not saying anything it is that same as conforming or yielding to something that one might disagree with.  

White text on a black background and black text on a white background

In more recent years, the sentiment of this button has become a source of office humor; however, it was once a more serious slogan used by trade unions throughout the United States. Trade, or labor, unions have existed as an organized movement since the late 19th century and were created to represent the best interests of laborers and employees, including wage increases, health benefits, and improved working conditions. This specific “shortage of robots” mantra has been used in several newsletters of the American Postal Workers Union, including the Fresno, California Local 339 and Fargo, North Dakota Local 88.

Red blue and black text on a white background

This button represents opposition to the Selective Service Acts, which are federal laws that instituted conscription or compulsory military service (otherwise known as being drafted). Conscription was first implemented in the U.S. during the Civil War and public resistance culminated in the Draft Riot of 1863 in New York City. The draft was suspended and did not return until World War I, when it was instituted by President Woodrow Wilson. In 1940, President Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act, which required all males age 23 – 36 to register. After the U.S. role in the Vietnam War expanded, the Selective Service System fell under scrutiny amidst growing antiwar sentiment. Between 1965 and 1973, an estimated 500,000 men “dodged” the draft by fleeing the country or simply refusing to respond to notices. In response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, President Carter reactivated the Military Selective Service Act in 1980, which required males age 18 – 26 to register with the System.