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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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NEA-PAC, or the National Education Association PAC, is one of the largest and wealthiest political-action committees in labor. Founded in 1972 as part of the NEA Citizenship Committee, NEA-PAC works towards raising funds for candidates of any political party who will support public education. Run largely by teachers, the PAC raises money by asking members for contributions, operating phone banks, and acting as voter registrars. NEA-PAC became part of a super PAC in 2011, and continues to be one of the most successful PACs in politics.

Sawchuk, Stephen. (2011, Sept 1). NEA Sets Up Super PAC. [Web Log Comment]. Retrieved from: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/teacherbeat/2011/09/nea_sets_up_super_pac.html.

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