1" with maker name on curl of Phila Badge. Pictured is "R.R. Wright, Sr., Founder" and the button is dated for "Phila. Feb. 1." Wright, a former slave, believed there should be a day when freedom for all Americans is celebrated. He invited local and national leaders to meet to organize the movement for a national holiday to commemorate Lincoln's signing of the 13th Amendment. The group that was formed was named "National Freedom Association" and it proposed a memorial date to call attention to the continuing struggle for freedom of African-Americans. Since Lincoln signed the Amendment on Feb. 1, that date was chosen. The first commemoration took place that day in 1942 at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. On June 30, 1948 President Truman signed a bill proclaiming Feb. 1 as National Freedom Day. Button is NM and displays Mint. First we've seen.