h. 0.75 x w. 0.75 x d. 0.5 in.
(h. 1.905 x w. 1.905 x d. 1.27 cm)
Credit Line
U.S. Senate Collection
Accession Number
46.00058.000
Object Description
This small ceramic lapel pin is one of two designs featuring ducks that many senators and staff began wearing during the lame-duck session of Congress in 1982. This design shows the duck's tail and feet; the other shows the whole duck. The lapel pins originally had nothing to do with the lame-duck session (the period between a November election and the beginning of a new Congress); they were supplied by the Long Island Duck Growers Association and handed out at a New York Farm Harvest Day event hosted by Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato (R-NY) in the Caucus Room of the Russell Senate Office Building. After the 1982 election and the beginning of a lame-duck session, they became a coveted accessory for many on Capitol Hill. This design was reportedly viewed as a lighthearted statement of “defiance” and was the more popular of the two styles.
