Red and blue text printed on a white background within blue, white, and red borders.

Read more about the history of voting and political buttons on the Busy Beaver blog.

Have info on this button? Contact us here.

Large bold white text on a blue background.  A small union bug is located at the bottom.  

This button refers to the debate surrounding the 1940 presidential election in which the incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt campaigned for a third term. At the time, Congress was in the midst of proposing a constitutional amendment which would have limited presidents to only one six year term, however that amendment eventually failed to pass. Despite the 1940 admendment's failure, on March 21, 1947, the 22nd amendment was added to the constitution in order to officially limit presidents to two, four year terms in office.

Bold blue text printed in the center on a white background.  Above the text is a blue background behind three white stars.  Below the text are five vertical red stripes on a white background.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933-1945. When he was elected to office, the country was deep into the Great Depression with approximately 13,000,000 people unemployed. Roosevelt is credited with giving hope to the American people, beginning with his inaugural address which included his famous quote, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."  

Within his first months in office, Roosevelt prompted Congress to quickly pass the New Deal legislation which put people back to work under several newly-formed governmental organizations including the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Roosevelt is generally considered to be one of the most popular presidents and is the only president to ever be elected to more than two terms.

The letters GOP are printed in blue on a white background with a red border.  The letters are arranged over a curved line to imitate a smiley face.  

The button was made by the National Federation of Republican Women (NFRW) in preparation for the 1968 elections. Providing educational opportunities to Republican women across the nation had become one of the defining goals of the NFRW. The organization's president, Gladys O'Donnell (1968-1971), co-sponsored a coast-to-coast bus campaigns in 1968 to recruit members, conduct workshops, and mobilize support for then presidential hopeful, Richard Nixon. As an accomplished pilot who trained fighter pilots during World War II, O'Donnell helped the NFRW by compiling useful training manuals on leadership, community service, and fundraising.

As of today, the organization is tens of thousands of members strong. It's often considered the "education arm" of the Republican Party. 

Bold white and blue text on a red, white and blue striped background.  A union bug is present at the bottom.

This button refers to the 1940 political campaigns of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Indiana Governor Henry Schricker, and Indiana Senator Sherman Minton. Minton was the only one of the three to lose his respective election. 

Bold yellow text encircles an illustration of an ear of corn on a blue background.  

This campaign button presumably refers to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s support of the agriculture industry. Roosevelt served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933-1945. When he was elected to office, the country was deep into the Great Depression with approximately 13,000,000 people unemployed. Roosevelt is credited with giving hope to the American people, beginning with his inaugural address which included his famous quote, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."  

Within his first months in office, Roosevelt prompted Congress to quickly pass the New Deal legislation which put people back to work under several newly-formed governmental organizations including the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Civil Works Administration (CWA), the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Roosevelt is generally considered to be one of the most popular presidents and is the only president to ever be elected to more than two terms.

Bold white text is centered on a blue background.  

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

Black and white photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt wearing a suit.

This button was most likely manufactured in support of one of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's presidential campaigns. A central figure in both early 20th century American and world history, FDR's leadership helped to define and shape an era for millions of Americans.

Domestically, FDR is most known for his 'New Deal' programs—a string of legislation and executive actions geared toward invigorating the economy and getting Americans back to work. Although historians and economists generally agree that the mobilization and build up to WWII brought an end to the Great Depression rather than the effects of the New Deal, the Keynesian ethos of the Roosevelt administration was very much embraced by the vast majority of Americans. The only president to be elected three consecutive times, FDR led a nation out of economic ruin and into WWII. Unfortunately, FDR did not live to see the final outcome of the war; he died a month before the Allied victory in Europe. FDR is consistently listed as one of the most popular presidents in American history, according to various polls.   

Bold white text on black background.

This button refers to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt who was married to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR).  She was the first presidential spouse to actively engage in politics and by doing so she made herself available for attack by the opposition.  When President Roosevelt ran for a third term in 1940 against the Republican candidate, Wendell Willkie, many anti-FDR buttons were sold by street vendors across the country.  

Blue text on a white background above white text on a red background.

Produced by the America First Committee (AFC), this button echoed the organization's straighforward appeal to legislators: "Defend America First." Promulgated in September, 1940 by Yale Law School student R. Douglas Stuart Jr., along with other students, the America First Committee snowballed into one of the foremost anti-war movements in American history—denouncing any and all forms of US involvement in World War II. Prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the AFC peaked with nearly 800,000 dues-paying members, and included such prominent leaders as General Robert E. Wood, famed aviator Charles A. Lindbergh, as well as Senator Charles P. Nye. Geographically, Illinois became one of the leagues' strongholds, with over 135,000 members and 60 chapters.

The AFC not only opposed direct US military involvement, but it also protested any and all forms of aid sent to Great Britain or any other Allied country. They feared support of the latter would necessarily lead to direct military involvement. Although the AFC's effective campaign failed to stop the passage of the Lend-Lease Act or halt the repeal of the Neutrality Act, the organization's pressure upon Congress and the White House may have potentially saved thousands of American lives.