"Let Us Continue" 1964 campaign pin for Lyndon B. Johnson
Object number2016.021.0001
Date1964
ClassificationsArtifacts
ObjectPin
Credit LineThe Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza Collection
MediumMetal
DimensionsDiameter: 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm)
Collections
Description"Let Us Continue" campaign pin for Lyndon B. Johnson during the 1964 presidential election.
The pin features a color portrait of President Johnson in the foreground and a shadow portrait of John F. Kennedy in the background. The red text below the portraits reads: "LET US CONTINIUE."
A union logo is printed at the bottom edge, next to the creator information: "(c) 1964 Campaign Supplies Co., Drexel Hill, PA." The pin has a metal backing with a brass-colored pin with clasp.
Curatorial CommentaryPresident Lyndon Johnson recognized the power of the Kennedy legacy in the immediate aftermath of the assassination, and he used it to great political effect during the 1964 election. Virtually every Democratic presidential candidate since that time has included the image or the words of John F. Kennedy in their campaign materials, holding up the late president as a shining example of party leadership -- and also tapping into the unfulfilled hope and promise that Kennedy represents. Some candidates, including Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, have been specifically compared to John F. Kennedy in terms of their optimism and soaring rhetoric. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
