Button shows a white single-wing aircraft in flight and dark blue text over a dual-shaded green background.

Pilot Glenn L. Martin started his first aircraft company in 1912. It merged with the Wright Company in 1916, but Martin left to form a new company in 1917. The Glenn L. Martin Company made several models of bomber for the U.S. military, including the B-10, B-12, and JRM Mars. The B-10, which went into service in 1934, was noted for its innovations such as rotating gun turrets, enclosed cockpit, and retractable landing gear. The JRM Mars was a type of "flying boat" bomber built for the U.S. Navy that was modified and used as a transport plane during World War II. Martin merged with American-Marietta in 1961 and with Lockheed Corporation in 1995. It is now part of Lockheed-Martin, an aerospace and defense contractor.

Button shows black text and an illustration of a blue biplane with red wings over a yellow background.

The Condor II biplane was a Curtiss-Wright model designed for varied transport. "155" may refer to its cruising speed. Models of the Condor II biplane include BT-32 (for bomber transport), AT-32 (air transport), and CT-32 (cargo transport). Some models of the Condor II offered convertible sleeping compartments and were used by the forerunners of both American Airlines and Eastern Airlines. Condor II aircraft were also part of some civilian and military fleets in the United Kingdom and China. Admiral Richard E. Byrd used a specially equipped model in his 1933 Antarctic expedition.

Button has a white illustration of a single-wing airplane in flight and white text on a shaded brown and black background.

After President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced in 1934 that the Army Air Corps would take over airmail contracts, Eddie Rickenbacker flew the only DC-1 ever built from Los Angeles to New York to show that commercial airlines were qualified to carry the mail. The flight time of 12 hours, 3 minutes and 50 seconds set a transcontinental record for commercial aircraft. Rickenbacker was the top U.S. flying ace in World War I, with 26 victories. He received numerous awards, including the U.S. Medal of Honor and France's Croix de Guerre.

Button depicts a single-wing, twin-engine yellow and white plane and dark blue text over a light blue background.

In the early 1930s, Boeing Company developed bomber aircraft from its existing mail-plane designs. The YB-9 and Y1B-9 were the first all-metal single-wing planes developed for the U.S. Army Air Corps. They featured open cockpits for the pilot and co-pilot, who doubled as the bombardier. Five Y1B-9A test planes were built and entered service in 1932. The more advanced Martin B-10 bomber prototype had already been flown, however, and the last of the Y1B-9As were phased out in 1935.

Boeing developed more advanced bombers such as the four-engine B-17 Flying Fortress and B-29 Superfortress used during World War II. In March 1944, Boeing workers were building 350 planes per month for the war. After the war, Boeing transitioned to building passenger aircraft, including the 747 (1970), 777 (1994), and 787 Dreamliner (2009).

Blue text on a white background with a silver key attached

Wendell Willkie was the Republican presidential candidate who ran against Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940. His campaign produced millions of buttons in response to items in the news about Roosevelt in an attempt to gain name recognition. 

Willkie was a lawyer from New York, who campaigned on issues such as international relations, which addressed the United States role in World War II.  He lost the election to Roosevelt, who had won 85% of the electoral college.  As a result, Roosevelt would go on to become the first president to be in office three terms, before the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1951, would limit a president's time in office to two terms.

Button shows blue text and red text on a white background

This button mocks Richard M. Nixon's previous losing campaigns for U.S. president and California governor. Nixon had served as U.S. senator from California (1950-53) and as vice president under Dwight Eisenhower (1953-61). Yet he lost his campaign for president to John F. Kennedy in 1960, and the race for California governor to Pat Brown in 1962, making some think his political career was finished. Nixon won the 1968 election and was re-elected in 1972, resigning in the wake of the Watergate scandal in 1974.

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This button was released during the 1940 presidential election by Wendell Willkie, the Republican candidate, against standing president Franklin Roosevelt who was running for a third time. Willkie, an Indiana business man with no previous experience in office, was popular in the Midwest and Northeast for his platform of siding with the allies but not actively joining the war. However, many felt that with the threat of Nazi Germany in Europe, the best candidate was Roosevelt, who had two terms worth of experience in office. Franklin Roosevelt won the election, becoming the first president to be elected to three terms, and successfully led the United States through World War Two.

United States Presidential Election, 1940. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2015 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1940

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Franklin D. Roosevelt had served two terms as President of the United States before becoming the first President to seek a third term.  It had not yet been amended in the Constitution to have a two term limit for the President.  The 1940 Presidential election saw Roosevelt run as the incumbent against Republican nominee Wendell Willkie, who campaigned against Roosevelt serving a third term.  Roosevelt won the election becoming the first President to serve three terms.  The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1951 would limit the President's time in office to two terms.    

Red white and blue striped background with white and blue text on top.

John F. Kennedy ran for President of the United States in 1960 as the Democratic candidate.  His opponent was the Republican nominee, Richard Nixon.  This was the first election that both states Alaska and Hawaii could participate in since they had become states in 1959.  This election marked the first time a candidate (Richard Nixon) lost despite carrying the popular vote.  Kennedy won the electoral college by a vote of 303 to 219.  

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During the 1948 presidential election, standing president Harry Truman used the phrase “I'm Just Wild About Harry” as one of his campaign slogans. The slogan, which came from a song by the same title by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake and was also used as his campaign song, was featured on buttons, pins, and banners across the country. The election's outcome was one of the most shocking in history. Most believed that Truman's opposition, Republican Thomas Dewey, would win the election because of his debating skills and his choice to stay quiet on controversial issues. Yet Truman's aggressive campaign won the election, earning him a second term in office.

United States Presidential Election, 1948. (n.d.). Retrieved September 26, 2015 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1948#The_fall_campaign