A Collector’s Paradise: Political Campaign Button Galore

Campaign buttons have been around as long as we have had campaigns. According to historical records, George Washington, America’s first president, wore the first political button in 1789 at his first Inauguration in New York. The wearing of political campaign buttons was in fat all about name recognition from the beginning. The first campaign buttons were actually clothing buttons and read things like “Long Live the President”. Many believe that the first campaign phrase was actually modeled after England and shouts of “long life the king”.

In the beginning of the formation of the United States political campaigns were nonexistent. The debacles of today were not in the minds of the forefathers so buttons and silk ribbons were more of a congratulations method then a campaigning one.
In 1860 during the campaign of Abraham Lincoln political campaign buttons found their audience. Lincoln’s likeness was embossed onto campaign buttons and the race was on.

The furthering of the campaign button was made possible because of the invention of photographs. For the first time voters all over the land could see who wanted to be their president so using this new invention to further political campaigns simply made sense.

The first buttons were made of a metal ring surrounding a round tintype picture with a hole punched in the top. A ribbon was used to hang the picture on a supporter’s lapel or around his neck. In essence these were not traditional buttons at all but more like medallions. It was not until 1896 that the campaign buttons we know today came into existence. The first actual buttons touted President William McKinley or his Democratic opponent, William Jennings Bryan.

Campaign buttons are still popular today with collectors attempting to collect as many as they can. Some of the very early campaign buttons can list for as much as many thousands of dollars while the McKinley buttons were so plentiful one can find those for a little as $10.

Political buttons used throughout history hold a lot of historical significance today and many have become antiques. There are now also many local and national button collector clubs who meet and organize conventions and shows sharing the political buttons they have collected. The value of political buttons depends on how rare they are now. There are many books and on-line resources to discover how valuable a button you have may be.

Today campaign buttons are still used for elections. However they are no longer just for presidential campaigns but all types of campaigns from local elections to nation elections to campaigns for causes. It would appear at this point that the political campaign button is here to stay.