HOUSTON – In a quiet room Baker Institute for Public Policy -most Rice UniversityYou can see the evolution of American politics before your eyes.

Following her death in 2022, Carol Desenberg donated her late husband Julius and his collection of political campaign buttons to Rice University. He wanted to share with and inspire future generations.

“I want them to understand the history of this country because our presidents reflect where we have been and where we are going,” he said. “I would like to think that this made them want to get involved in the political process. “This is the most important thing we have as a US citizen.”

Her husband’s passion for political campaign buttons was sparked by a simple gesture on the streets of New York City in 1960, more than sixty years ago.

“He was walking down the street during the mayoral election at the time,” Desenberg said. “Someone pinned a button to his collar and that started the bug.”

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Currently, some of his collection of more than 900 buttons covering campaigns spanning from the early 1900s to the present are now on display.

“This is the largest publicly available collection of presidential campaign buttons in the United States,” said Political Science Professor Mark Jones.

He added that the collection is valuable not only for its historical significance, but also as a resource for exploring the development of political identity in America.

“It helps researchers understand the messages it contains and how they evolved over time,” Jones said. “All of them are important for their time.”

In fact, these buttons are snapshots that bridge America’s political past to the present. These are small but powerful symbols of the campaigns that once brought our nation together.

Desenberg concluded: “I think what needs to be seen and understood is the kindness of people taking different sides, not having so much hostility towards each other and not losing friendships because of it.” “Being able to resolve our differences and understand that everyone has a different opinion and not be so negative towards the person who disagrees with us.”