Description: Lot of 70 Vintage 1968 ROCKEFELLER PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN BUTTONS —Original Authentic Artifacts from a Genuine Election Collection— This lot of 70 identical Rockefeller Presidential Campaign pin-back buttons came directly from the Rockefeller for President Headquarters in New York City in the Spring of 1968. What an amazing time and place. These buttons have been carefully stored untouched in a larger collection of Presidential Campaign Memorabilia ever since. The Interesting History Behind These Buttons: On April 30, 1968, Nelson Rockefeller, a moderate Republican and the Governor of New York, announced his candidacy. Six weeks earlier, he had stated he would not run for the Republican Presidential nomination. But, then, on March 31, President Lyndon Johnson, so unpopular, beleaguered by disastrous policy in the Vietnam War, and likely to lose to whomever the Republicans nominated, unexpectedly announced he would not seek re-election. That opened the race for grassroots crazy-popular candidates Sen. Eugene McCarthy and Sen. Bobby Kennedy to vie for the Democratic nomination. Less than a week later, on April 4, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and riots broke out in America’s cities, not to mention the continuing anti-war protests nationwide. A longtime supporter of Civil Rights, Rockefeller felt an obligation to run for the presidency and try to heal the nation and solve the Vietnam mess. While the GOP still had a moderate wing then, the Party was leaning hard into Right Wing extremism (remember that radical Goldwater was its loser candidate in ‘64 presidential election). Nixon was back but then considered moderate; the right-wing candidate was barely known upstart California Governor Ronald Reagan. Meanwhile, the Democrat’s surging candidate, Robert Kennedy, was assassinated in June. Rockefeller thought even as a Republican he might inherit some of Bobby Kennedy’s support, so he stayed the course hoping for a GOP Convention showdown that August. But the party’s dominating conservative right wing compromised to nominate Tricky Dick yet again. New-comer Ronald Reagan would have to wait. And, so, here we are 56 years later, with so much political craziness of our own, contemplating these relics from a long-ago chaotic time when that 1968 presidential election was critically more important than we ever possibly could foresee. Amid it all, arguably, Rocky then and there might have made a good president. These 70 buttons were acquired to distribute to a Connecticut college campus campaign backing Rockefeller in that moment, but were lost in the choas and never distributed because Rockefeller's campaign was a rollercoaster and he didn’t make it to the finish line. Condition: Please see the Photos. (The quarter in the photos is for size reference only and not included.) These are authentic political pieces of pre-owned memorabilia that are like-new and never used. For 56 years, they’ve been well kept in a box and undisturbed. Nonetheless, as a precaution, they are For Sale As Is. Shipping is via USPS Ground Advantage and the cost will be calculated by the buyer’s location. Thanks for looking!
Price: 14 USD
Location: Ocean View, Delaware
End Time: 2024-11-29T23:27:05.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
Type: Button
Presidential Campaign: Nelson Rockefeller 1968 Presidential Campaign
Theme: Politics
Country/Region: United States
