Campaign buttons first appeared during the
1896 presidential election between Republican canidate William
McKinley and Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryon.
There are over 800 known varieties of McKinley buttons alone.
The slogan "a full dinner pail" was popular among
McKinley supporters and refers to the prospering economy
of the day.
In 1896, the Democrats campaigned on the
issue of promoting unlimited coinage of silver money by
the federal government, i.e. "free silver."
Above: 1896 campaign button for William Jennings
Bryon.
This type of button is called
a "jugate," which referrs to the
paired images. Jugate campaign buttons featured
a picture of the presidential candiate and
his running mate.
Above: McKinley
and his vice-presidential running mate,
Garret Hobart. Below additional Jugates
(L to R): Calvin Coolidge and Chas. Dawes,
1924; Wm. Jennings Bryan and John Kern,
1908; Alton Parker and Henry Davis, 1904
Despite the fact that both William McKinley and
Garret Hobart died in office (Hobart died of heart
failure in 1899; McKinley was assassinated in
1901) their campaign buttons do not hold a great
deal of value because of their plentitude.
More political buttons...
For More Information:
Correspondence with the Student Senate: UWRF Series 8
Left: River Falls students with John F. Kennedy in North Hall in 1959 during one of his two trips to River Falls (note the mispelling); Students for Kennedy campaign button.
Other politicians, pundits and stumpers
to visit the UW-River Falls campus include Sen.
Eugene McCarthy (1973, former presidential candidate); Eleanor
Roosevelt, Indira Gandhi (1962); George
Lincoln Rockwell (Nazi Party leader, 1967); Paul Newman (stumping
for McCarthy, 1968); Jesse Ventura (before his term as governor of Minnesota), and former WI Governor Tommy Thompson...
Right: Student Peace Demonstration during Vietnam era (in front of Cascade Avenue overlooking North Hall). View more rallies and demonstrations.
Richard M. Nixon, Memorabilia
Congratulatory telegram
from President Richard Nixon to Eugene Kleinpell, President
of UW-RF (known then as the Wisconsin State College-River
Falls)
Political organizations:
Young Democrats, 1955
Young Republicans,
1956
Agitation for student government began in the 1920's. By May of 1 937 a Student Senate, complete with a constitution, was fully formed.
Student Senate,
1943
Rallies and demonstrations:
The 1960's was an exciting decade on the River Falls campus. It was the era of civil rights and Vietnam. The Student Senate adopted a guide supporting student rights to participate in peaceful campus demonstrations and "teach-ins." Unrest was not limited to issues of national interest. Students rallied for changes on campus including having more freedom in dormitories, banning the obligatory freshman "beanies," and allowing the sale of beer on campus.
1972
anti-war protest on campus
Student strikers along Cascade Avenue, 1970
Students participating in a Moratorium March, 1969
George Lincoln
Rockwell, Nazi Party leader, visited campus in 1967 and
was greeted by many protesters.
Police in riot gear at 1972 student protest activities along Elm Street in River Falls
Newspaper articles and editorials:
While the Student Voice remained the newspaper of the majority, several underground newspapers, including the Stifled Vice (below), began to appear on campus during the 1960's. See UWRF Series 97 (Misc. Student Newspapers) for more.
pg. 1
con'td
pg. 1
cont'd
Student
Voice article discussing collegiate turnout in the 1936 election
of FDR.
"Stifled
Vice Underground" discussion of Kent State, 1969.
Sources used: Hake, Theodore L. Encyclopedia of Political Buttons. (New York: Dafran, 1974)
Historical File: (UWRF Series 43)
Miscellaneous Student Newspapers: (UWRF Series 97) University Archives Photograph Collection: (UWRF Series 26)
Campaign Buttons donated to the River Falls ARC.
Walker Wyman and James King, Centennial History: the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. (River Falls: UW-RF Press, 1975)
River Falls, WI 54022 
