Lyndon B. Johnson Campaign Button

Manufacturer / Maker Yale and Towne Mfg. Co. (Stamford, Connecticut, 1869 - 2001)

Association Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908 Stonewall, Texas - 1973 Johnson City, Texas)

Date1964

Mediummetal

Dimensions1/4 × 1 1/2 in. (0.6 × 3.8 cm)

ClassificationsDocumentary Artifact

Credit LineAlbuquerque Museum, gift of Clarence Gailard

Object numberPC1984.26.17

DescriptionThis metal campaign button features an off-white base color, reading "SCIENTISTS" in large, red lettering; "JOHNSON" in the center of the button in bold, navy blue lettering, and "ENGINEERS" at the bottom, in large, red lettering. A small label is also pictured, representing the Allied Printing Trades Union Label in Philadelphia. During his campaign, Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) and his running mate Hubert Humphrey (1911-1978) were establishing Scientists and Engineers for Johnson-Humphrey, a group made up by notable scientists, including the co. chairman Dr. George Kistiakowsky (1900-1982), a former science advisor to John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), and a chemistry professor at Harvard University. Including thirty Nobel Prize winners in the group, and the main purpose of the group being to ensure that opponent Barry Goldwater (1909-1999) did not win the election as he was in favor of less limitations on nuclear testing. Lyndon B. Johnson's win in the election symbolizes the importance of having additional scientific professionals on his side, influencing the creation of a country with more limits on nuclear testing.

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