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Consider the blue and white litho pinback pictured above. It has the names of four candidates. Three of these surnames match those of major party presidential candidates—Wilson, Kennedy, and Smith. Unfortunately, throughout all American history there have been literally hundreds of persons named Wilson, Kennedy, and Smith who ran for office, in addition to the more well-known Woodrow Wilson, John F. Kennedy, and Al Smith. Sadly, since this is a word pin and not a button featuring pictures, we are denied one avenue of identification. Given pictures of the candidates, it would be pretty simple to decide whether this button was associated with the presidential candidacies of Wilson, Kennedy, Smith, or none of the above. Lacking pictures, our only hope is to spend hours poring over reference books, looking for a state campaign that featured three or four of these names.
Actually some short-cuts are possible. It seemed clear to me that this button dated from after the period of Woodrow Wilson, and probably after the period of Al Smith. It's hard to put into words, but the button just "seemed" newer than 1912 or 1928. For one thing the back and pin were sparkling clean, like few buttons I have seen from the first part of this century. So I suspected the button was not related to Woodrow Wilson or Al Smith. I then took the short-cut of turning to my fellow collectors. I asked several in person, then ran the button in the "Can You Identify" section of this publication.
Finally came the payoff. Dave Quintin, an advanced collector of locals items, sent me a photocopy of a ribbon in his collection. The ribbon is headed by a 1.75 inch celluloid button that said "The Progressive Democratic Ticket." Underneath, on the ribbon, were the same four names that were on my litho button, including first names, and also the office that each candidate sought. Dave identified the item as a 1938 Pennsylvania item, and that sent me to the New York Times where I discovered this ticket was one of two major tickets in the 1938 Pennsylvania Democratic primary. Kennedy, Wilson, Smith, and DeWitt went down to defeat in the primary.
So here's the identification: Thomas Kennedy was the current Lt. Governor and secretary-treasurer of the United Mine Workers; he was the ticket's candidate for governor. S. Davis Wilson was the current mayor of Philadelphia, and was the ticket's U.S. Senate candidate. Ralph H. Smith ran for Lt. Governor, and Edith B. Dewitt ran for Secretary of Internal Affairs. Identifying this button without the aid of my fellow collectors would have proved difficult!
This tiny cello measures only 9/16ths of an inch, and surely is
one of the smallest pins ever to list three candidates! Suppose you owned
this button (or one of several variations of it) but didn't know its history.
The name "Hughes" at the top suggests the 1916 Republican presidential
candidate Charles Evans Hughes, and the age of the button seems consistent
with 1916. You might think to yourself, If this is a Charles Evans Hughes
button, neither of the other two persons named are the vice-presidential
candidates, since Hughes ran with Charles Fairbanks. All you need now is
to find a single state that had two candidates named Willis and Herrick
in 1916. Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections has a
good index to candidates for governor and for U.S. senator and representative.
Here in the index we find that Myron T. Herrick ran for a U.S. Senate seat
from Ohio in 1916, while Frank B. Willis ran for governor. This button wasn't
successful in its mission—all three candidates lost.
Here is a red, white, and blue litho that is a tough button to
identify. We might begin by assuming that Roosevelt refers to Franklin D.
Roosevelt, since the button seems too recent to date to the time of Teddy
Roosevelt. On the other hand, we can't initially be certain this is an FDR
button, since other Roosevelts have run for office, including both Theodore
Roosevelt, Jr. and Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr. When we use the same methodology
that we used on the Hughes-Willis-Herrick button, we run into a brick wall.
There is no state that had candidates for governor, or for U.S. senator
or representative, named Ross and Roberts, in 1932, 1936, 1940, or
1944. Perhaps we should fall back on the idea that maybe the Roosevelt mentioned
is not FDR.
Here, though, is where hobby publications can come in handy. Perusing old issues of the APIC Keynoter, I came across a 1977 issue with an article by Bob Lowe in which Lowe identified this button. As Lowe pointed out, this is an especially difficult button to identify because the two candidates in question (besides FDR) are both for "lesser" state offices. It is very, very hard to trace the history of people who run for state offices like attorney general or superintendent of education. By doing some painstaking research, Lowe identified the button as supporting F. Clair Ross for state treasurer of Pennsylvania, and Warren R. Roberts for state auditor. The date was 1936.
What follows is a pictorial gallery of 23 different coattails word pins. These buttons included here were all identified using books like Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U.S. Elections, and hobby publications such as the Keynoter. Of course, readers should bear in mind that the buttons pictured here comprise only the tiniest fraction of coattails buttons in existence. I have also included a few buttons that don't meet strict definitions of what a coattails button is, but these are included because they look like coattails buttons and may cause some initial confusion until the identification is made.
Before we start with the pictorial guide, we might as well tackle the basic question—What is the definition of a coattails button? One broad definition is that a coattails button supports candidates for offices at different levels, such as president and governor. Fine points of the definition can be debated by advanced collectors. Note that coattails may be multigates, trigates, jugates, single picture buttons, or name pins. I have included only name pins here, since they tend to be harder to identify than picture buttons. What is the purpose of a coattails button? In a broad sense these buttons were used to encourage party solidarity—to say to the voter, "Vote the ticket straight!" In a more specific sense, coattails buttons were usually designed to let popular candidates help weaker candidates. While with presidential coattails buttons we think of the state or local candidates seeking to "ride on the president's coattails into office," actually many presidential candidates have tried to increase their support in doubtful states by linking themselves in the voters' minds with highly popular state and local politicians.
Bricker-Willkie-Burton (photo below). Litho from Ohio in 1940, supporting Wendell L. Willkie for President, John W. Bricker for governor, and Harold H. Burton for U.S. Senator. The two state candidates won, but weren't able to help Willkie along to victory.
Illinois item from 1940 supporting C. Wayland Brooks for U.S. Senate, Wendell L. Willkie for President, and Dwight H. Green for governor. All won but Willkie.
Five names on one little litho! This Massachusetts Republican item supported not only the national ticket, but also Leverett Saltonstall for governor, Horace T. Cahill for lieutenant governor, and Henry Parkman for U.S. Senator in 1940.
Two different buttons have these names and this basic design. The one pictured here is a 1.25 inch cello, while the other is a litho measuring about one inch. The buttons date from 1948, and are Indiana items. Included, in addition to Dewey for President and Warren for Vice-President, is Hobart Creighton for Governor. All three of these Republican candidates lost.
While most collectors recognize this is a button supporting Thomas E. Dewey, what many don't realize is that the button is not from the Dewey for president campaigns of 1944 or 1948, but from the Dewey for governor campaign in New York in 1950. Dewey won this one, as did the other man named on the button: Joe R. Hanley, who was elected to the U.S. Senate.
Another hard item to identify, because there is no index to candidates by their first names! Ike is clearly Eisenhower, but who is Chris? It turns out the Chris here is Christian Herter of Massachusetts, who was elected governor of that state in 1952 and 1954. While one might assume this is a coattails item used when Herter was running for governor, actually it is not. Old-timers in the hobby recall this tab was used during the flurry of activity to try to dump Richard Nixon from the vice-presidential slot on the 1956 national ticket. Chris Herter was here suggested as Ike's new running mate.
RWB litho, just under 1.25 inches. Coattails item from West Virginia, 1952. Supports Adlai Stevenson for President, William C. Marland for governor, and Harley Kilgore for U.S. Senator. Marland and Kilgore were both victors.
This pleasant little litho with a smiling G.O.P. elephant aimed to boost the cause of Eisenhower for President and Albert E. Cobo for governor of Michigan in 1956. Let's Go! Unfortunately for Cobo, he lost the election to G. Mennen Williams, who had a 1956 coattail of his own (below, right button).
The button at left is from Michigan in 1952. It supports Adlai Stevenson for president, G. Mennen Williams for governor, and Blair Moody for U.S. Senate. Only Williams was victorious. The button at right boosts Adlai Stevenson for president, Estes Kefauver for vice-president, and G. Mennen Williams for governor of Michigan. Williams and Stevenson ran in both 1952 and 1956, but fortunately for the purpose of dating this button, Kefauver was Stevenson's running mate only in 1956.
JFK coattails word pin from 1960. John B. Swainson was the Democratic nominee for governor of Michigan in 1960, while Patrick V. McNamara won re-election to the U.S. Senate as a Democrat that same year. In fact, all three candidates named on this litho button were elected.
Two LBJ buttons with the same rebus-type concept: "4 Senator Young." These 1964 items support Lyndon B. Johnson for president and Stephen Young for U.S. Senator from Ohio. Young and LBJ were both successful in their re-election bids.
This button (below) has grown to be a favorite of collectors over the past few years. It boosts George McGovern for President and Richard N. Gottfried for New York state assembly. The design matches a popular non-coattails button for McGovern, but this one is considerably scarcer than the McGovern-only version. Gottfried was victorious, as McGovern's popularity was great in Gottfried's 67th district.
California item supporting John V. Tunney for re-election to the U.S. Senate, Jimmy Carter for a first term as president, and James C. Corman as member of Congress from the twenty-first district. Of the three, Carter and Corman won in this 1976 race. The Biographical Dictionary of the American Congress tells us Corman was once a member of the Los Angeles city council, and the Historical Atlas of U.S. Congressional Districts confirms that Corman's district comprised part of the Los Angeles area.
A departure from the Carter campaign's preferred green and white color scheme, this blue and white litho is from Illinois. Abner J. Mikva was elected to the House of Representatives in this 1976 race, but barely—he won by 203 votes out of a total of more than 213,000!
Jimmy Carter for President, Jay Rockefeller for governor. Both candidates had long made a practice of encouraging people to call them by their first names, hence this unusual coattails celluloid. Jay Rockefeller was elected governor twice, and was also a presidential hopeful. He is currently U.S. Senator from the Mountain State.
Large West Virginia cello for Michael Dukakis for president, Gaston Caperton for governor, and Robert Byrd for U.S. Senator. 1988. Both Caperton and Byrd won.
Thomas & McLevy. The only Socialist Party coattails button in existence. This is a Connecticut item that supports Norman Thomas for president and Jasper McLevy for governor. Thomas ran for president six times; McLevy ran for governor of Connecticut fifteen times. McLevy ran all six years that Thomas ran, thus theoretically this button could date from 1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, or 1948. A little reading on the history of the Socialist Party, however, tells us that Thomas and McLevy were bitter factional enemies during the 1936, 1940, and 1944 elections, and were not even on speaking terms. Thus it seems more likely that the Connecticut Socialist Party, or McLevy's own managers, produced this button in 1928, 1932, or 1948. McLevy, by the way, is noted for actually winning election as mayor of Bridgeport a number of times, after the Socialist party in most areas of the country was in steep decline.
John B. Anderson and Patrick J. Lucey were the candidates for president and vice-president of the National Unity Campaign, but this button was issued by New York's Liberal Party, which was supporting Anderson. Jacob Javits was a life-long Republican, but in 1980 his only nomination was that of the Liberal Party. All three candidates on this coattails button lost.
| © 1997 by Stephen Cresswell |