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In 1992 Bill Clinton ran for the presidency against George H.W. Bush. Clinton, who was at that time the Governor of Arkansas, was not seen as a strong opponent and people doubted that the Democratic party would choose him as their nominee. When he was nominated, Clinton chose Al Gore as his running mate and became very popular with young voters by appearing on popular TV shows. Clinton won the election with 43% of the vote and ultimately served two terms, leaving office in 2001 and going on to create numerous philanthropic organizations.

Bill Clinton. (n.d.). Retrieved December 13, 2015 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton.

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Allsvensk Samling was a magazine founded in 1914 in Goteborg, Sweden. The magazine, which was printed in Swedish, was circulated internationally by the National Society of Sweden to encourage Swedish people living abroad to retain their native language and culture. The first editor of the magazine was Enni Lundstrom from 1914 to 1923, and the magazine continued to be circulated among Swedish immigrants until it closed down in 1971.

Allsvensk Samling. (n.d.). Retrieved December 8, 2015 from: https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allsvensk_Samling_%28tidskrift%29.

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This button was for Adlai Stevenson III's campaign for U.S. Senator from Illinois. Ralph Tyler.Smith had been appointed to fill the senate seat held by Everett Dirksen, who died in office in 1969. Stevenson defeated Smith in a special election in 1970 and was re-elected in 1974. He decided not to run in 1980. The button is likely from the 1974 election. Stevenson, a Democrat, had been Illinois Treasurer from 1967-1970. Stevenson is the son of former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson II, who lost the U.S. presidential election to Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956.

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This is a button in support of Jim Thompson, and was produced during one of his campaigns for Governor of Illinois. Thompson, a Republican who was colloquially known as Big Jim Thompson, was the longest serving Governor of Illinois—occupying the office from 1977 to 1991. Prior to serving as Governor, Thompson worked in the Cook County (Illinois) State’s Attorney’s Office and was appointed by then-President Richard Nixon as U.S. Attorney for the Northern district of Illinois. Thompson was a well-known crusader against Chicago’s infamous political corruption and organized crime, and his reputation garnered him a record number of votes in the 1976 gubernatorial election. Throughout his fourteen years in office, he was known for his charismatic personality and his successful handling of the state’s budget.

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This button is most likely from Barack Obama’s 2012 U.S. Presidential re-election campaign. In 2011, Obama launched a policy initiative called We Can’t Wait—referenced by the slogan on this button—which was a series of executive orders put forth to “support middle class Americans” during a period of long-standing Congressional gridlock. Some Republicans disapproved of the We Can’t Wait initiative because they viewed it as a threat to the balance of power and Congress’s oversight. 

Democrat Obama, the 44th President of the United States, successfully won re-election in 2012 over his Republican contender Mitt Romney, winning 51.06% of the popular vote to Romney’s 47.21%. Obama’s win marked the first time since 1944 that a president had won two successive contests with both a win in the electoral college and over 51% of the popular vote.

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The Democratic nominee for U.S. president in 1928, Al Smith was the Governor of New York and also the first Catholic nominated on a major-party ticket. His running mate in the 1928 election was Senator Joseph Robinson of Arkansas. As an anti-Prohibition candidate, Smith got support from those opposed to the measure, which was enacted in 1920. Yet many also feared that as a Catholic, Smith's policies would be unduly influenced by the Pope. Due to those fears, Smith's association with the corrupt Tammany Hall political machine and the continuing economic prosperity of the 1920s until that point, Smith lost the 1928 election to Republican Herbert Hoover in a landslide, 444 electoral votes to 87. A progressive, Smith served as Governor of New York from 1919-1920 and 1923-1928.

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This button was for the re-election campaign of U.S. Senator George McGovern in 1974. McGovern won that election, but lost to James Adnor in a third-term bid in 1980. McGovern served as U.S. Senator from South Dakota from 1963 until 1981, having previously served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1957-1961. In 1972, McGovern was the Democratic nominee for U.S. President, but lost the election to Richard Nixon, 520 electoral votes to 17.

McGovern volunteered for the U.S Army Air Corps in World War II, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross. As a senator, he was known for his opposition to the Vietnam War, and throughout his career worked on programs related to agriculture, nutrition, and fighting hunger for national and international organizations, including the United Nations.