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The Pennsylvania Railroad was based out of Philadelphia and was founded in 1846. It would not only become one of the largest railroads in United States history, it would also be the first railroad to use steel-bodied cars and include the vestibule. The initial goal of the railroad was to connect Philadelphia with the cities in the west (Chicago, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Cleveland.) Furthermore, the Pennsylvania Railroad was also responsible for constructing many railroad stations; including Penn Station in New York, Union Station in Chicago, and Union Station in Washington D.C. to name a few. The railroad continued to expand until it hit some financial difficulties in the 1970s. Even though the Pennsylvania Railroad declared bankruptcy it still remains one of the largest railroads in the world. The railroad also helped to stimulate industrialization and growth in the United States. 

Blue edges and blue text on a white background. A drawing of a man with brown hair, wearing a green suit is pulling a woman in brown hair, in a red dress. Red lines are used to show the ground. 

During the Second World War, women showed their bravery on the home front and became an integral part of the war effort for their respective countries. Their tireless participation in the workforce opened the door to new rights and a renewed interest in feminism in the aftermath of the war. In 1944, French women gained the right to vote, and soon after, American women would set a second wave of feminism in motion with the hopes of attaining equality.

To be on the same playing field as men when it came to culture and politics, women from the mid-twentieth century were calling the sexist power structure into question. They began to heavily challenge the notion that women were to strictly be wives and mothers confined to the home. They also pushed back against restrictive reproductive laws and protested for equal pay. At this time, women even established themselves as men’s equals when it came to romantic relationships and avoided being grossly submissive to their partners. Women, just like men, would have an equal say in their partnerships, and for some, that meant putting their foot down when it came to assertive pursuers.

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Virginia Neal Blue was Colorado State Treasurer from 1967 to 1970. Blue, a Republican, was Colorado's first elected female official. She was highly acclaimed and well liked. This is a button from Blue's 1970 re-election campaign against Democrat Thomas Kassler of Boulder, CO. Neal died in office on September 16, 1970 at 60 years old while running for re-election. 

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Transportation committees are often tasked with overseeing the workings of transportation related services, such as cars, trains, planes, and more. Within the United States government, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is responsible for all modes of transportation within the country. The committee can be traced back to the creation of the Committee on Public Works in 1947. 

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The button is a pictorial of the Russian Internal Troops arm badge. The White Sphinx represents the Northwest District of Russia, which includes the city of St. Petersburg. The duties of the Internal Troops of the Ministry for the Internal Affairs (MVD) is to support the military and combat terrorism. One of its major tasks is combat activity in the North Caucasus region of Chechnya. 

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Illustration of a pink faced man with a mustache and a wide open mouth in a top hat in slight profile with black text on the upper left side of the button on a white background.

The Variety Club came about in 1927 and is a children’s charity that still continues today to support disadvantaged children with chapters worldwide. It was formed by people in show business as a social club but its identity began to change when a woman dropped her child off in front of a theater on Christmas Eve in 1928 saying she could not care for it. The Variety Club took the child under their wing and subsequently this led to the mission of the club being to help children as it does today.     
 

With the club’s origins stemming from show business, it has used some occupational terms to describe those in the club. One of those terms is “barker”.  This was the occupation of a man in show business who would presumably “bark” to gather customers at a fairground to come to shows at a carnival or circus. The members in the club are called barkers and Chief Barker is the title given to the chairman of the board. 

An illustration of a blue car is in the center of the button. The text is red and surrounds the car image on a white background.

The origin of the advertising slogan, “Everybody Drives a Used Car,” is unknown. The slogan has been spotted in several mid-20th century advertisements with the earliest being in 1921 Motor Age, where it is attributed to Lozier Auto Co. out of Des Moines, IA. In a 1949 publication, the origin of the slogan is attributed to L. F. Jacob & Co.