Illustration of an American flag with gold text above it on a white background

The Republican Party, also known as Grand Old Party (GOP), is one of two major political parties in the United States. The party was founded in 1854 supporting classical liberalism, opposing the expansion of slavery and supporting economic reform. However, the Republican ideology shifted in 1912 moving ideals to the right following the introduction of more political parties and ideals. After the Great Depression, Republican ideals shifted again further to the right, booting members of the party who the majority thought too socialist. Following the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Act of 1965, the parties core base shifted again becoming primarily Southern States composed of rural, men, and white Evangelical Christians, where the majority of its member demographics remain the same well into the 21st century.

Red text on a white background with blue and white photographs of two men in the middle and blue text between them

This button is for the 1996 re-election campaign of U.S. President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. They faced Republicans Bob Dole and Jack Kemp, as well as Ross Perot and Pat Choate of the Reform Party. Buoyed by a recovering economy and the portrayal of Dole as a clone of unpopular House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and one who would cut social programs, Clinton carried the election easily, 379 electoral votes to 159 for Dole and none for Perot.  The popular vote tally was 49.2% for Clinton, 40.7% for Dole, and 8.4% for Perot. The 49.0% voter turnout was the lowest for a presidential election since 1924.

Red and blue text on a white background with an illustration of a donkey in red white and blue in the center of the button

This button represents the United States Democratic Party and their use of the donkey as their official political party symbol. The first use of the donkey was in Andrew Jackson's 1828 presidential campaign. Jackson's opponents referred to him as a "jackass" due to his slogan, "Let the people rule!" Jackson embraced the donkey and later used it to describe himself as someone strong-willed and used it on his campaign posters. In 1870, political illustrator, Thomas Nast used the Democratic donkey inHarper's Weekly and is credited with making the donkey the Democratic party national symbol.  Nast used the donkey to illustrate an anti Civil War movement and the Democratic controlled newspapers in the South. By the 1880's the public incorporated the donkey as the unofficial party symbol.

Red text over an altertered photograph of four men in black and white striped prison clothes in front of a white background with measurements on it and black plaques in front of each man with their name and a number in white.

This button was created in 2004 to protest President Bush getting another term in the White House and to protest the Iraq War. President Bush and his Vice President Dick Cheney had been in office in 2003 when the United States began invading Iraq because of the erroneous belief that Saddam Hussein had nuclear weapons following the 9/11 attacks. John Ashcroft was the Attorney General at the time and was a supporter of the Patriot Act, an unpopular act that allowed the government to monitor civilians suspected of terrorism, while Donald Rumsfeld served as the Secretary of Defense and had numerous allegations of torture and human rights abuses. There were many calls for the impeachment of the four, though most either resigned on their own or remained in office until Bush’s term was over in 2008.

The term “Gang of Four” has its origins in the four heads of the Chinese Communist Party after Mao Zedong’s death. The group included Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen, all of whom faced trial for acting against the Communist Party, and all of whom were given long prison sentences for their crimes.

Gang of Four. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2015 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang_of_Four.

Iraq War. (n.d.). Retrieved December 3, 2015 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War.

White text on a blue stipe across the top of the button with a red bacckground on the bottom and a black and white photograph of two men in front of flags.

The photograph on this button is an offical White House photograph of U.S. President Richard Nixon and the King of Rock, Elvis Presley. The photo documents the bizarre encounter that occurred in the Oval Office on December 21, 1970, when Elvis Presley and President Nixon met. This is a humorous button suggesting Richard Nixon and Elvis Presley run for the 1996 presidential election. 

Red text on a dark blue background with a white outer ring and a red line through the middle

This button was for the 1968 presidential ticket of Republicans Richard M. Nixon and his running mate, Spiro Agnew. They campaigned on a platform of restoring law and order after widespread rioting following Martin Luther King's assassination and Vietnam War protests, appointing judges less active in influencing social policy, and ending the draft. Nixon and Agnew faced Democratic challengers Hubert H. Humprey and Edmund Muskie as well as George Wallace and Curtis LeMay of the American Independent Party. Humphrey, vice president under Lyndon B. Johnson, promised to continue his Great Society and War on Poverty policies. Wallace, former Governor of Alabama, campaigned as a segregationist and "law and order" candidate.

Though Wallace siphoned off some votes from Nixon supporters, Nixon won the election with 301 electoral votes to 191 for Humphrey and 46 for Wallace, who won 5 states. It was the last election in which a third-party candidate won all of a state's electoral votes, and also the last time New York had the most electoral college votes of any state. Agnew resigned in 1973 after pleading no contest to a charge of tax fraud. Nixon served as president before resigning in 1974 in the wake of the Watergate scandal.

Red and blue text on a white background with a curved red line under the red text

This button is from Edmund Muskie’s 1972 campaign for the Presidency. Muskie, a Democrat from Maine, had served on the Senate since 1959 and campaigned unsuccessfully for the vice-presidency in the 1968 election alongside Hubert Humphrey. In 1972 Muskie was a popular candidate to be the Democratic party’s nominee, ranked higher than President Nixon in the polls, but was soon overtaken by fellow Democrat George McGovern, who quickly won many of the vital caucuses. Muskie was further attacked because of erroneous rumours of drug addiction and disparaging remarks about Canadians, and he ultimately did not get the backing of the Democratic party. Richard Nixon won the 1972 election against McGovern. Muskie returned to the Senate until 1980 to 1981 when he served as Secretary of State under Jimmy Carter, and retired afterwards until his death in 1996.

Edmund Muskie. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2015 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Muskie.

White text on a blue background

In 1972 Ted Kennedy, younger brother of President John F. Kennedy, was a popular potential nominee for the Democratic party’s nomination. Kennedy, a Senator from Massachusetts, was at the time the Senate Majority Whip, and announced that he would not be running for the presidency. Instead, Richard Nixon and McGovern campaigned against each other, Nixon winning a second term. Kennedy later campaigned for the presidency in 1980 but lost against Jimmy Carter, and remained as a Senator known for his liberalism and was influential in passing numerous laws concerning AIDS, immigration, and education. Kennedy is the fourth-longest serving Senator, having served for 47 years from 1962 until his death in 2009.

Ted Kennedy. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2015 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kennedy.

Blue text on a white background

This button is from John F. Kennedy’s 1960 campaign for the presidency. Serving in the House of Representatives and later in the Senate throughout the 1950s, Kennedy ran as a Democrat against Richard Nixon in the 1960 election, defeating him with 49.7% of the popular vote, making him the youngest man to become President. Kennedy’s time as president saw the building up of the space program, increased involvement in the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Unfortunately, Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald, and his Vice-President Lyndon B. Johnson stepped in to complete his term. Today Kennedy is considered a popular president and is an American icon.

John F. Kennedy. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2015 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._Kennedy.

Blue text on a white background with a red Y shape

This button is from one of Edward Joseph Kelly’s numerous campaigns to be Mayor of Chicago, a position he held from 1933 to 1947. Kelly had originally served in the Chicago Sanitary District in the 1920s as the chief engineer, and became mayor in 1933 after previous mayor Anton Cermak was assassinated. Kelly eventually served four terms as mayor, and was best known for creating a corrupt political organization called the Kelly-Nash Machine, as well as overseeing the Chicago World’s Fair and the first official Major League Baseball All-Star game. Kelly decided not to run for the mayoralty in 1947, and retired from politics until his death in 1950.

Edward Joseph Kelly. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2015 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Joseph_Kelly.