Back text printed to the right of a photograph of Senator Ted Kennedy. 

In 1972, despite several public statements that he would not run for President of the United States, Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy was considered the favorite for the Democratic nomination. He did not campaign for the office and eventually the Democratic presidential nomination was won by Senator George McGovern of South Dakota. McGovern lost the general election to President Richard Nixon.

Ted Kennedy was the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and was a longtime US Senator from Massachusetts.  He passed away in 2009 after a battle with brain cancer.   

Bold blue text printed on a white background

This is a pro-Gerald Ford button from the 1976 United States presidential campaign in which Jimmy Carter, the former govermer of Georgia, ousted Ford from the White House. Gerald Ford served as the 38th President of the United States from 1974 to 1977, following President Richard Nixon's resignation from office. He is the only person to serve as both the Vice President and President without wining the Electoral College vote. 

Bold red text on a white background.

This button refers to a statement made by Senator Henry Ashurst of Arizona about his feelings on voting for the Republican candidate, Wendell Willkie, in the 1940 presidential election. Ashurst had previously backed a proposed constitutional amendment limiting presidents to one six-year term. However, when President Roosevelt was nominated to run for a third term in office, Ashurst supported him.  

Bold white text with a black outline is printed over a red illustration of the state of Illinois, on a black background.

Charles Wayland Brooks (1897-1957) was a United States senator from Illinois. Brooks was elected in 1940 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Senator J. Hamilton Lewis, and was re-elected in 1942. After an unsuccessful bid for re-election in 1948, he practiced law until his death. Brooks also served as a first lieutenant in the Marines during World War I.

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.

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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.