An illustration of a lit cigarette pointing downwards with large red line going through it. The line has black text inside it and it and the cigarette sit inside a white circle. The white circle is surrounded by a red ring. 

In 1954, the tobacco companies gave the Canadian Department of Health and Welfare money to conduct a study between the links of cancer and tobacco use. The results of the study were not made public until 1963, when the Canadian government began to restrict tobacco sales. The reticence was a deliberate decision made between the Canadian government and the food and drug industries. The findings linked cancer with tobacco use but were deemed controversial and said to not provide enough scientific evidence. The controversy continued until the early 1980s, when other scientific studies began to find a link as well. By the mid-1980s, there was enough support in Parliament for the Non-Smokers’ Health Act, which went into effect in 1988. The act banned tobacco advertising and tobacco use at government facilities. It is likely that this button depicts the emerging anti-tobacco campaign of the 1980s.

A lunch pail featuring the faces of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. The entire button is sepia-tone.

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.

A white equal sign with curved white text below it on a blue background. 

It is likely that this button dates from the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) debates in the 1970s. The ERA was an attempt to constitutionally ensure equal rights to women. The 1970s effort for an ERA was not new; it was first brought to Congress in the 1920s. However, it was the first time the amendment had passed both the House and the Senate. The passing vote occurred in 1972, and the states were given seven years to ratify the amendment. The amendment fell short of ratification by three states in 1977 and five states rescinded their ratification by the 1979 deadline.

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.