Representing the Issues
Just as buttons can be used to show one’s support of a specific candidate, they can also be used to show support of political issues and social movements. The following are examples of ways in which campaign buttons have been used to highlight contemporary issues during election years.
Free Silver
The 1896 presidential election between former Governor of Ohio William McKinley, and Nebraska Congressman William Jennings Bryan was extremely contentious with Free Silver being the main issue surrounding the campaigns. At the time, the United States followed the gold standard, meaning that the value of paper money is determined by the value of gold. Bryan, however, believed that silver should also have value as currency. It was much easier to mine in the West and could greatly increase the nation’s money supply and decrease the debts of the working class. Buttons from this election highlight the importance of the Free Silver issue in 1896, as well as the strict policy and party lines of the time.
Breaking with Tradition
When President Franklin D. Roosevelt decided to run for a third term in 1940, he broke a tradition in place since 1796 when George Washington decided not to run for a third term as president. Although many supported FDR in his third bid for presidency, dissent from the decision became a pillar of Republican nominee Wendell Willkie’s campaign against Roosevelt. This led to the creation of campaign buttons bearing slogans like “No Third Term” and, in rebuttal, “Better A Third Termer Than A Third Rater.” In the end, FDR would go on to defeat Willkie in the 1940 election, making him the first and only president to serve more than two terms.
Equal Representation and Ending War
Following a disastrous Democratic National Convention in 1968 marred by party disunity and protests that escalated to riots, Senator George McGovern partnered with Representative Donald Fraser to lead a commission tasked with reforming the nomination system for the Democratic Party. Through this commission, McGovern advocated for better representation of women and African Americans in the convention delegation. When McGovern later ran for president in 1972, his dedication to equality gave rise to campaign buttons featuring the female sex symbol and equal signs within his name.
Another pillar of McGovern’s campaign against incumbent President Richard Nixon in 1972 was ending the Vietnam War. By this time, tensions were running high in the U.S. over involvement in Vietnam. McGovern ran on the promise of ending the Vietnam War and returning all POWs back home. Buttons featuring doves and olive branches, symbols of peace, achieved popularity based on this promise.