Black text of various sizes on a white background. 

This button refers to a statement made by Spiro Agnew, Richard Nixon’s Vice President. The statement was about anti-war protestors he called “an effete corps of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals”.  The button was most likely worn by anti-Vietnam War activists. 

Large curved ted text on a white background. 

The origin of this button is unknown, however the term “buyer’s rights” is often associated with real estate transactions. When buying a new home, purchasers have certain rights including full disclosure of all property information, review of all documentation, choice in financial lenders and inspection services, and the right to purchase without discrimination.

A lunch pail featuring slogans and the face of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. The background of the button is blue.

This button is a political campaign button from the 1900 United States presidential election. The two men featured are Republican Presidential candidate William McKinley and his vice-presidental running mate and future president, Theodore Roosevelt. In the 1900 election, Republicans strongly appealed to industrial workers as they represented the North. Other candidates such as the Populist Democrat William Jennings Bryan and the Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debbs also made industrial workers a pillar of their campaigns.

Sound money, labor employment, and food were all key components of McKinley's re-election campaign. McKinley had a strong following having led the nation out of a economic depression and to victory in the Spanish-American war. While he would defeat Bryan, his second term would be short. In 1901 he was assassinated by Leon Czolgosz and succeed by his vice-president, Roosevelt. The dominance of the Republican party would continue for years until a divide between Roosevelt and William Howard Taft would allowed Woodrow Wilson to win the presidency.

Blue and red text on a white background. 

The draft lottery of 1969 was instated on December 1, 1969. The Selective Service System conducted two lotteries for the Vietnam War for men born between 1944 through 1950. The saying of “draft beer not students” could be seen at various campuses throughout the United States even before the official draft during the Vietnam War. An article appeared in the Middleboro Daily News on March 22, 1967 that discussed one instance of students using this saying on posters. The Draft Director, Lewis B. Hershey often visited college campuses, often under the sponsorship of student groups, to speak about the misconceptions surrounding the draft. However, “since the development of the Vietnam war, pacifists have taken Hershey and the draft as symbols of the war effort and backed up their views with heckling, picketing, walk outs, sit-ins and unruly behavior.” In one of Hershey’s talks at Howard University a “screaming group of 50 students surrounded him and waved posters saying the draft was ‘unfair to the black man’ and ‘draft beer, not college students.’” (pg. 2)

“Draft Beer, Not Students Signs Tell Gen. Hershey” (1967, March 22). Middelsboro Daily News. 

Black text of various sizes in a standard straight and curved formation on a white background. 

The American Foundation for AIDS Research was started in the early 1980s by a group of researchers and scientists in New York and Los Angeles. The two groups merged in 1985 to create the American Foundation of AIDS Research. The foundation has since become an international organization that dedicates itself to AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and advocacy for AIDS-related public policy. The organization’s research has lead to the development of three classes of antiretroviral drugs, drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission, and have supported young researchers in establishing their careers in AIDS research. Numerous people, including celebrities such as Whoopi Goldberg and Anna Wintour, have supported the organization.

An illustration of a devil with black text on a white background.

The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) has a project to 'expose ALEC'. ALEC is the American Legislative Exchange Council, a United States non-profit made up of free market advocates and fiscally conservative politicians. The organization began in the late 1970s and continues to this day with upwards of 140 legislators among its ranks.

The CMD's project is a collection of bills and actions taken by members of ALEC that the CMD considers wasteful or inappropriate. As a whole the UMD claims that ALEC is a political-corporate partnership that is "reshaping our democracy, state by state". While the project has had criticism, it has been awarded the Sidney Award, the Izzy Award and, the Professional Freedom and Responsibility Award.

Black text above an illustration of grumpy troll figure on a white background.

Ms. Boynton is an award winning American author, illustrator and humorist. She began her career designing greeting cards for Recycled Paper Greetings in the 1970’s.  In the mid 1980’s, she sold over 80 million cards a year.  She has authored and illustrated over fifty books for children and adults.  Recently, Ms. Boynton has added songwriting and music producing to her repertoire.

A smiling camper peeks from behind a tree next to a bear, a pitched tent, a cloud, and a smiling sun all on a blue sky. Yellow "GO CAMPING" is nestled in the green boughs of the tree while the remainder of the black text sits below in the grass.

Hallmark began in 1910 when Joyce Clyde Hall started selling postcards. He had little money—not even enough to take a horse-drawn cab to his lodgings at the YMCA—but he had an entrepreneurial spirit and the determination of a pioneer. Hall quickly made a name for himself with the picture postcards he sold. Rollie Hall joined his brother in business, and the company was named Hall Brothers. On January 11, 1915, a fire destroyed their office and inventory. They took the only salvageable item, their safe, and set up shop again. With $17,000 in debt, they decided to press onward. As postcard sales declined, they recognized the public’s desire for more privacy in their communication, so they started offering high-quality Valentine’s Day and Christmas cards mailed in envelopes. The fateful fire resulted in the Hall brothers’ decision to buy printing presses and begin producing their own greeting cards in 1915. Hallmark eventually made the move to manufacture and sell collectable memorabilia including pin-back buttons, most of which revolve around holidays and other special events.

Large yellow text with smaller blue text above and below it. A blue stripe travels through the yellow text and everything is set against a dark blue background. 

This is a button from a Walmart greeter, the person who greets customers who come into their store, collection. The button is from 1998 and shows that Walmart at that time was reaching out to it's employees to make them like stakeholders. In this case, the Merriam Webster definition, "one who is involved in or affected by a course of action" is probably most appropriate.

An illustration of a man riding on a horse with white text above and below him. Everything is set on a red background. 

This button is likely for the Spanish Riding School located in Vienna. It has a rich history in Austria having been around for over 430 years making it the oldest riding academy in the world.