Black and white photograph of Herbert Hoover on a black background.  White text is printed above and below photograph. 

Herbert Hoover, despite being Secretary of Commerce for both the Harding and Coolidge administrations, never held an elected public position prior to his entrance into the Republican presidential primary of 1928. Nevertheless, his reputation as a humanitarian helped make him a trusted name amongst voters. Similarly, his association with the Harding and Coolidge administrations during the roaring 1920s convinced many that a Hoover administration meant a continuation of economic prosperity. Hoover won the 1928 election in landslide, beating the Democrat Al Smith.

It all came crashing down, however, eight months after Hoover took office. On October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday, the stock market crashed, ushering in the worst economic downturn known in American history: the Great Depression. The downward economic spiral showed little signs of easing by the time Hoover began preparing for re-election. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a New York Democrat, easily defeated Hoover, and entered the White House in Spring, 1933.

Upon leaving office, Hoover continued to remain a public fixture, both as an anti-communist crusader and humanitarian. Hoover died at the age of 90 in 1964.

Black and white photograph of Jacob A. Beidler surrounded by white text and a flag border.

This button was presumably made in support of Jacob A. Beidler's campaign for the 20th District of Ohio. Beidler served as a congressman for the 20th district from 1901 to 1907. Prior to his time in public office, Beidler served as president for the Belle Vernon-Mapes Dairy Co., and vice president of the Cleveland-based Painesville and Eastern Railroad Co.

Blue text printed on a white background, centered between orange and white stripes.

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.

Image of the U.S. flag flying from a flag pole printed on a white background surrounded by a gold border.

Have info on this button? Contact us here

Two oval photographs in the center of the button with white text above and below the images on a black background.

This button is an interesting jugate that has both Franklin D. Roosevelt and Wendell Willkie on the same button. Typically, a jugate has a president and vice president candidate on the button, but this "saleman's pin" plays it safe and has both democratic and republican presidential candidates. They ran against each other in 1940 with FDR winning the election.

Dark blue text printed on a light blue background above several flags representing different nations and the text GOP in a blue shape with a gold outline.

Have info on this button? Contact us here.

Black and white photograph of Hugh Miller on a black background with white text above and below.  

Made in 1914, this button sought to inspire support for Hugh Miller's campaign for Indiana Senator. Miller ran as a Republican in the election, campaigning on issues like anti-sectionalism, tariff reform, and government inefficiency. Miller lost the election by nearly 50,000 votes to the democratic candidate Benjamin Shively. Prior to the election, Miller worked as the vice president for Irwin's Bank in Columbus, Indiana.

Side-by-side black and white photographs of President Calvin Coolidge and Vice-President Charles Dawes in jugate style.  

Soft spoken and at times reclusive, Calvin Coolidge ascended to the presidency after Warren G. Harding's untimely death in 1923. When "Silent Cal" addressed Congress on December 6th, 1923, his speech was the first presidential address to be broadcast over the radio. Initially, Americans did not know what to make of Coolidge, but he won the Republican presidential nomination in June, 1924 with former brigadier general, Charles Dawes, nominated as his vice president. His opponents in the 1924 election, Democrats John Davis and Charles Bryan, lost by a wide margin. Coolidge and Dawes carried every northern and western state except Wisconsin. 

Coolidge suffered a personal tragedy on the campaign trail when he son unexpectedly died. Coolidge withdrew, and did not seek another term as president after his 1924 victory. Coolidge lived out his remaining years in Northampton, Massachusetts. He died in early 1933 of coronary thrombosis. 

White text on a blue background with two white stars.

President Warren G. Harding and Vice President Calvin Coolidge were elected to office in 1920. Their campgain slogan was Less Government in Business and More Business in Government. At the time of the election, the country was suffering a depression following World War I, and Americans were eager for change. Follwing the election, Harding and his fellow Republicans in Congress lived up to their promises by lowering taxes, creating a Federal budget system, and limiting immigration. By the time Harding died of a heart attack in 1923, America was beginning to experience the prosperity of the roaring twenties. Coolidge became president on August 3, 1923 and served until 1929. 

Golden letters with blue background. "Willkie" is in cursive letters at the top of the button. "FIRST MILLION" are in all capital letters below the name.

Wendell Willkie was the Republican presidential candidate in the 1940 election, with Oregon Senator Charles McNary as his running mate. Prior to the election, Willkie was a corporate lawyer, employed by the Commonwealth Southern Corporation, a company that distributed electricity in eleven states. He later became company president in the mid-1930s.

Before his campaign, Willkie had no experience as an elected public official. He had also never once run for public office before his presidential bid. Once a former Democrat and Wall Street industrialist, Willkie became one of the three major isolationist candidates fighting for the Republican nomination in 1940.

Although Willkie lost the election to incubent Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, Roosevelt offered him the opportunity to serve as a US representative abroad. Willkie traveled to the Middle East, Britain, and the Soviet Union during the early 1940s. A few years later, in October, 1944, at the age of 52, Willkie suffered a major heart attack and died.