Some of the most innovative and novel quilts related to the politics and culture of the New Deal were created as submissions for the Sears National Quilt Contest in 1933 in conjunction with the Chicago Century of Progress World’s Fair. Held in the midst of the Great Depression, novice, skilled, and professional quiltmakers entered over 25,000 quilts in the contest in hopes of winning the $1,000 grand prize (worth over $23,000 in 2023). Some makers submitted ordinary, everyday quilts using tried and true traditional patterns. Others entered original pictorial and abstract designs that innovatively fit the theme of “Century of Progress,” as described below. The grand prize-winning submission was entered by Margaret Rogers Caden of Lexington, Kentucky, who did not make the quilt herself. In contrast to Caden’s very traditional quilt, others entered the Sears contest with highly innovative and symbolic quilts, set on winning the $200 bonus for an original design, equivalent to $4,500 in today’s currency.