Today, political candidates love to brand themselves with kitschy sayings and gaudy buttons, but have you ever wondered where all the political swag came from? Here’s the history of the American campaign button.
While the origins of the buttons may be lost in history, most sources agree that the first presidential campaign button appeared with America’s first president — and really was a button, designed for use on a man’s coat. It was cast in metal and embossed with a statement of support for a man who, in fact, already was president: “G W Long Live the President.” Intriguingly, the phrase mimics “Long Live the King,” a saying that the American revolutionaries had fought in part to banish as they waged war in support of an elected leader, not a hereditary, lifelong ruler.
But it wasn’t until the election of 1824 that campaign buttons — and all kinds of other political swag — really began to be used as a way to brand a candidate during an election. In the run-up to that vote, Andrew Jackson’s supporters put his likeness on buttons that could be hung from stickpins or lapels, according to Steven Heller, a professor at the School of Visual Arts writing in the New York Times.
Afixin to vote for Nixon? #lame
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