Bold blue text centered on a white background

Have info on this button? Contact us here

Blue text on grey background.

The White House is where the President of the United States of America lives and works. Public tours of the White House, which is located in Washington, D.C., are offered almost every day of the week and can be requested through members of Congress. This button is presumably a souvenir from one such tour.  

Black lettering with white drop shadows on an orange background.

Senator Robert Alphonso Taft, son of President William Howard Taft, was a three term Republican US Senator from Cincinnati, Ohio.  He was known for being financially conservative, but opposed prohibition, the Ku Klux Klan and World War II, which cost him political support. He sought the presidential office three times, but lost his final GOP presidential nomination to President Eisenhower in 1952. Taft became majority leader in the Senate in 1953 but, soon after, died from cancer.

The museum has two versions of this button, the 4 inch litho described above and a 3 1/2 inch cello version shown in the second set of images above.

Red, white, and blue background with an greyscale image of John F. Kennedy centered on the button. 

This button was made in support of John F. Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign. Despite his youth, lack of foreign policy experience, and Catholic upbringing, Kennedy managed to capture the Democratic nomination. His opponent—Republican nominee Richard Nixon—campaigned on the success of the Eisenhower administration, to which he was vice president.

After the debates between Nixon and Kennedy—the first televised debates in US history—nearly all the criticism leveled at Kennedy for being either too 'young' or 'inexperienced' seemingly vanished overnight. His strong performance invariably helped Kennedy capture the remaining votes needed to catapult him to the White House. Kennedy narrowly won the election, but many historians cite his success in urban and industrial districts for the victory. 

Blue text on white background.  Top third of button with red background and white star. Bottom third of button alternating blue and white stripes.

This button was most likely made in support of Richard Nixon's re-election bid for president in 1972. Despite a failed presidential campaign in 1960, Nixon successfully ran again in 1968, becoming the 37th President of the United States. Prior to his presidency, Nixon served as a Republican representative in the House and a Senate. Nixon won re-election in 1972 by a record landslide, beating Democratic opponent, George McGovern. 

Although Nixon initially escalated America's involvement in the Vietnam War, he did manage to bring home the majority of US troops by 1973. As the Watergate scandal erupted in mid-1973, Nixon—facing certain impeachment, lack of support from his own party, and criminal charges—had no choice but to resign. On August 9th, 1974, Nixon became the only president in American history to resign from office. Nixon's vice president, Gerald Ford, pardoned Nixon from criminal charges once he assumed the presidency. Nixon died at the age of eighty-four from a severe stroke in 1994. 

Altered black and white image of LBJ in the center with black text below on white background.  LBJ appears to have large ears to look like Mad Magazine's Alfred E. Neuman.

This anti-Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) political button is styled after the mascot of Mad Magazine, Alfred E. Neuman.  Neuman often appears on the cover of Mad Magazine above his catch phrase, “what me worry?” and his image has been repeatedly used in political cartoons to invoke stupidity.  

LBJ became the 36th President of the United States after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.  He campaigned for President in 1964 and won with the 61% of the popular vote (the widest popular margin in American history) against Barry Goldwater.  

Text is printed in blue with a red outline and surrounded by a red ribbon with white stars and a blue border.

This anti-president Richard Nixon button features a slogan commonly used by the George McGovern campaign in the 1972 presidential election. McGovern served as a Democratic Representative and Senator from South Dakota and is remembered for being a “die-hard liberal” whose main goal was to achieve world peace. McGovern warned against involvement in Vietnam in 1963, proposed a $4-billion reduction in the U.S. defense budget, and supported the war on poverty. President Nixon was originally elected in 1968, and was running for a second term in 1972 when he beat McGovern in a landslide with 60.7% of the popular vote.

Photograph of Nelson Mandela in front of a group of children, surrounded by a border of white text on a green background.

Nelson Mandela was famous around the world for being a Nobel Peace Prize winner and the first black president of South Africa. His career started in 1944 when he began work as an anti-apartheid activist. Soon after, Mandela became a revered leader in the black community and was incarcerated for his work by the South African government from 1964 to 1982. 

In the early 1990s, Mandela negotiated with then President of South Africa F.W. de Klerk to help end the nation’s discriminatory apartheid system. For their efforts they were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.  Mandela was elected president of South Africa in 1994 and served one term that lasted until 1999.  Mandela was credited with bringing together a once divided nation through his efforts to investigate human rights violations under apartheid, and to introduce education and economic development initiatives to the black community.  Although he is now deceased, Mandela remains an international figure and is internationally known for his efforts towards peace and social justice.  

White text on green background.  Photograph of Jimmy Carter smiling imposed over the outline of the United States.  Image of the United States filled in with the American flag.

A recycled campaign slogan seen during the Kennedy and LBJ presidential campaigns, "Get America Moving Again" was one of the phrases used by the "Peanut Brigade"—a group of volunteers, friends, and other Carter supporters from Georgia—in support of his 1976 campaign for president.

In the wake of the Watergate scandal and Nixon's resignation, Jimmy Carter's Washington 'outsider' image caught the eye of disillusioned voters who were fed up with the politics 'as usual' mentality corroding Capital Hill. Nixon's successor and Republican incumbent Gerald Ford fared poorly in the primaries, but eventually proved to be a worthy competitor. In the end, Carter emerged victorious and became the 39th president of the United States. 

White button with photograph of Lyndon Johnson wearing cowboy hat and suit.  Black text along bottom border of the button.  Orange and white ribbon with white text.

The day after John F. Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president. Johnson is one of the only four Americans to serve in all four federally elected offices: Representative, Senator, Vice President, and President. Prior to succeeding Kennedy, Johnson served as a Texas Representative from 1937 to 1949, and then Senator from 1949 to 1961. His term as Senator included six years as Senate majority leader. 

The button pictured above was presumably made for attendees of Johnson's 1965 inauguration. Although Johnson is most known for his escalation of the Vietnam War, he also designed and implemented much of the "Great Society"—legislation that sought to ameliorate poverty, bolster civil rights, and protect the environment. With widespread protests in opposition to the Vietnam War capturing headlines daily by 1968, Johnson ended his campaign for another term once results came back of his poor performance in the New Hampshire primary. Nixon went on to win the 1968 general election.

Johnson died at the age of 64 in January, 1973 after suffering a major heart attack.