Buttons have long been used to promote political campaigns.
Previously, I showcased my Smoky Hill River Festival and LGBT buttons.
Let’s continue our tour of my button collection by examining my classic political buttons.
Eisenhower’s iconic “I Like Ike” buttons are well known to both historians and the public.
I inherited my “I Like Ike” button from my grandmother, who passed away in 2020.
Dwight Eisenhower was raised in Kansas, my home state.
Eisenhower served as US president from Jan. 1953 to Jan. 1961.
He was elected president in 1952 and reelected in 1956.
In both races, Eisenhower (R) ran against Adlai Stevenson (D).
Prior to his presidency, Eisenhower commanded allied forces in Europe during WWII.
I have another Eisenhower political button, which also features his vice president, Richard Nixon.
I also inherited this button from my grandmother.
Nixon would later serve as president from Jan. 1969 to Aug. 1974, when he resigned due to the Watergate scandal.
Nixon was elected president in 1968 and reelected in 1972.
I have a button from Jimmy Carter’s campaign.
The button displays the slogan, “Leaders, for a change.”
Carter ran alongside Walter Mondale.
The side of the button specifies it was from the 1976 presidential race.
Last year, I purchased the Carter button from Eclectic Legacy on Etsy.
In 1976, Carter (D) defeated Gerald Ford (R).
Ford served as Nixon’s vice president who became president after Nixon resigned.
Ronald Reagan (R) defeated Carter in 1980. Carter ran for reelection that year with Mondale, his vice president.
In 1984, Reagan ran for reelection against Mondale.
Mondale won his home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia.
Reagan won the remaining 49 states.
I have a button from Walter Mondale’s unsuccessful 1984 campaign.
The button includes the slogan, “America needs new leadership.”
Mondale ran alongside Geraldine Ferraro.
A friend of mine purchased the Mondale button from a thrift store in the small town of Pawnee Rock, Kansas.
I traded him a 1985 World Series button for the Mondale button.
In 1985, the Kansas City Royals won the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The World Series button had been part of my grandmother’s collection, which I inherited in 2020.
My classic political button collection includes two “Keep Abortion Legal” buttons, primarily because I didn’t have room for all of my abortion rights buttons in the display case with my LGBT buttons.
The classic design is older than Roe v. Wade, the 1973 US Supreme Court Decision that determined abortion rights were protected by the US Constitution.
The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, allowing states to once again ban abortion, which returned abortion rights to political prominence.
I also have a flu vaccine button, which I found in a vacuum at the car wash where I work.
Someone must have vacuumed it up while cleaning their vehicle.
I collect buttons, so instead of throwing the button away, I added it to my collection.
Let’s take another look at all of my classic political buttons.
If you haven’t already, you should check out my River Festival and LGBT buttons as well.
I hope you enjoyed this tour of American Presidential History, through my classic political buttons.
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