pw+foreign+political+cartoons

ATG  This political cartoon was created by Daniel Fitzpatrick on July 20, 1947. Fitzpatrick won the Pulitzer Prize for cartooning twice—in 1926 for a cartoon on America's preoccupation with prohibitive laws, and again in 1954 for a cartoon forewarning America's involvement in Indochina. From looking at the cartoon and understanding the background of the Marshall Plan, it can be inferred that Fitzpatrick understands the importance of the plan and the fact that the United States is assisting in the recovery processes of Europe after WWII. The cartoon was published in an American Newspaper after the plan was introduced, many Americans would have been aware of the benefits of the plan. Although the plan was put in place to assist the European economy, some economist who disagreed with the plan said that, by the United States providing subsidies to boost the economy it would only temporarily help rather than benefit the economy in the long run. Because the plan did not seem to directly affect the United States, at least to regular Americans, the cartoon does a good job a showing how beneficial it truly is to Europe. What makes this cartoon so important is the material it is expressing, recovery is a large step to future success to a country after a war. It is vital to post war countries to stimulate economic success a soon as possible and the United States would play a major role in this after WWII.

SLW--"Iron-Curtain" On March 5, 1946 prime minister of Britain, Winston Churchill, made his famous "Iron-Curtain Speech" to inform citizens of the UnIted States of the true intentions of the Soviet Union and their hunger for European domination. Churchill announced the "Iron-Curtain" separating the Eastern block and the Western block in Europe in this speech. Many Americans reacted to this speech with disdain. People knew of the Soviet Union as an ally during World War II and felt as though Churchill was trying to cause further unrest. The political cartoon above shows a person on the eastern block of the Iron-Curtain that was trying to escape to the western side. The cartoon also shows the lack of total effort on the western side ti free people separated by the Iron-Curtain. The cartoon was probably made to show members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Community on the west with the United States that they needed to take extreme actions to free the people in need and not avoid confrontation any longer. The author if this cartoon appears to be an opponent of isolationism and not wanting a reoccurrence of American indifference, like it showed in the beginning of World War II. In reality, the Iron Curtain itself was nonexistent and rather an ideological, symbolic, and physical boundary that divided Europe into two separate areas with their own economic and military alliances.

JML: Herb Block, Herblock, made this cartoon. He was a Pulitzer prize-winning cartoonist who was liberal and made cartoons about both foreign and domestic issues of the time. He made this cartoon for the __Washington Post__. This cartoon was drawn January 26th 1949, the year that the USSR created the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, Stalin’s proclaimed version of the Marshall Plan, which unlike the Marshall Plan that did assist the damaged Western European nations, did not really assist the Eastern European nations, which Stalin had forbid from being helped by the Marshall Plan. Thus Herblock was contrasting the two and showing Stalin’s to be worse while Stalin’s had just begun, what with the happy people at the top and the unhappy on the bottom, and the happy Stalin who still proclaimed his to be better. Audiences originally encountered this drawing in the __Washington Post__. This material also addresses the overall concept that communism is bad, that dictators are bad, and that Stalin and the USSR were bad. It would help to know that Americans had already considered communism bad before Stalin’s Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, and that thus this negative portrayal was not really controversial, especially during this anti-communist time period where it was in effect commonplace. It would be useful to know that the United States had been anti-communist starting with the First Red Scare after World War One, that the United States had even been reluctant to merely recognize the USSR as a nation, and that after World War Two and Stalin gaining power the United States anti-communist feelings increased greatly. There are several symbols in this cartoon, the two sides of the fence represent Western and Eastern Europe and the two plans for recovery, the caricature of Stalin represents Stalin, and the hammer and sickle represent communism in general. This material was created for Americans, and America was the country that issued the Marshall Plan and Americans had already held negative feelings toward the USSR and Stalin and communism, so the negative portrayal of the USSR, Stalin, communism, and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, was possibly somewhat biased to please the American people. The Americans, Russians, and people of both Western and Eastern Europe would be likely to pay attention to this cartoon because it involves them or their country. Americans might be pleased with the anti-communist, anti-USSR, anti-Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, while also be moved to feel bad for the maltreated Eastern Europeans; the Russians and Stalin would be upset about the negative press; and the Eastern Europeans would be dismayed about their situation but possibly hopeful that American notice of it might mean future American assistance. Herblock made this material, and he did so when he did, because he wanted to point out the badness of the newly created Council for Mutual Economic Assistance in comparison to the Marshall Plan. He argued that the council was much worse and ineffective than the Marshall Plan. The material suggests that communism is bad. Its point is that the council, Stalin, and the USSR are much worse than the Marshall Plan and the United States and that the council will allow, or cause, the already hurting Eastern European nations to continue to suffer while the Western recover. This material is important because it contrasts the Marshall Plan and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance and highlights the superiority of the Marshall Plan, while also expressing the anti-communist, anti-Stalin, ant-USSR American beliefs of the times. The political implications were that the United States is better than Stalin and the USSR because the Marshall Plan is better than the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. This material might have increased the anti-communism, anti-Stalin, anti-USSR beliefs in America that persisted throughout the Cold War and the eventual American assistance in Eastern Europe including the tearing down of the wall separating Western and Eastern Berlin.

GEB Without knowing who the author of this cartoon is, it is very clear their position on the iron curtain ordeal: completely against it. With a looming USSR behind the wall, complete with storm clouds, there are people running from the wall and pointing and gasping. The Iron Curtain symbolized the fighting between East and West Europe, the East with USSR and the West with the United States on their side. From the end of WWII in 1945 to the end of the Cold War in 1989, the Iron Curtain provided much drama and concern throughout Europe. It would seem that the author of this drawing was on West Europe’s side, as the East side is depicted in a negative way. This would warp the meaning of the material in a positive way towards Great Britain and the United States, making them appear as the heroic ones that are defeating the evil East. Those that would see this cartoon, most likely the West side, would agree with the way this cartoon is drawn. The Iron Curtain impacted life across the world, but in particular Europe. The exact start of animosity, producing this “wall, is unclear but potentially started during the Bolshevik revolution where the United States and Central Allies supported the White movement, something that the USSR was not likely to forget, and then WWII gave the USSR more land, in particular in East Europe. The Berlin Wall was a large part of the Iron Curtain and provided a literal wall that separated East and West, where as the remaining border was separated with military defenses. Creating their own economic and armed coalitions, the East had the Warsaw Pact and the West has the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In 1947, the Marshall Plan (otherwise known as the ERP) was announced to help rebuild and provide support for European countries. Stalin was against this plan and upped the “curtain’s” fortifications and declared none of the countries in the East would be allowed to accept the Marshall Plan. After a brief war scare in Czechoslovakia, any U.S. Congress doubts that this plan was necessary disappeared. There are numerous symbols that depict the opinion of the artist of this drawing. The East side is shown with clouds and darker colors with almost industrialized land. The exact drawing brings up the possibility of more concentration camps (known for smokestacks) which has the reader pitting the anger against Hitler toward the USSR. Then there are Russians atop the wall shooting down at the “innocent” Europeans who are without any arms. The wall definitely separates a want-to-be-utopia feeling West from an East that looks like it is at war.



KHW: “While the Shadow Lengthens” by Edwin Marcus - March 14th 1948

Edwin Marcus (1885-1961) was a cartoonist for the New York Times, a widely renowned newspaper, for fifty years from 1908 to 1958. In “While the Shadow Lengthens” he revealed his view of the debate that surrounded the controversial Marshall Plan. After World War II the Marshall Plan, also known as the European Recovery Program, was intended to provide economic relief to the participating countries. A debate over the Plan ensued as some argued that the plan would damage the U.S. economy at the cost of helping others while its supporters argued that the plan would protect cooperative European nations from Soviet domination. The cartoon illustrates Western Europe’s situation by placing it in the middle of American aide, represented by the Marshall Plan and communist takeover, represented by the shadow of a bear. Marcus believed that debates over the plan were only worsening things and that Europe was in eminent danger and needed U.S. assistance. On February 25th, several weeks prior to the debut of this cartoon, the Soviets supported a communist revolt in Czechoslovakia which lessened opposition to the Marshall Plan. The plan was officially passed in April 1948, about ten months after it was first proposed. This cartoon was produced to persuade Americans to support the bill and since it was published by a widely known newspaper the information was reliable. Communist opponents and European sympathizers were likely to agree with Marcus’ interpretation whereas die-hard Nationalists may see Europe’s desperation as an unfortunate but necessary part of life and would not want to risk another economic disaster in America. Fears that post war lending would cause a second great depression in the future were a valid concern as history has a tendency to repeat itself. Regardless Marcus wished to express that an ally was in need and that American delays were only making matters worse. This sense of urgency was beginning to spread as the plan would be approved a month later.

SMR The creator of this cartoon is unknown, however they probably had anti-communist sentiments. This cartoon was created during the Cold War, after the United States had tried to stop the spread of communism. As a result, the meaning might be changed from preventing the spread of communism, to eradicating communism altogether where it exists. This cartoon was probably released to the American public during the Cold War to spark dissention toward communism. The fact that the United States has always been adamant about protecting and spreading democracy would help support their fight to eradicate communism. In the cartoon, the pedestals before China read Czechoslovakia, East Germany, etc. These symbolize nations were communism existed but was expelled and replaced by an alternate government. The material was created for an anti-communist audience. The men that remain in the cartoon seem to look nervous, which would support the fact that it was not very reliable. The cartoon has an anti-communist bias. Pro-communist audiences would have probably felt that their political views were in danger and that it was an outrage that the United States had the power to reduce communism to three countries, rather then letting it spread. As an anti-communist United States, the cartoon relays the duty of Americans to support and promote democracy. This cartoon is important because it shows the international power of the United States and how it was able to prevent the spread out communism globally. While the United States and other countries were unable to eradicate communism completely, three communist countries out of several hundreds seems like a pretty significant victory.

KLM: "He's finally getting the hang of it."



With the Marshall Plan, America took responsibility for and financed the rebuilding of European countries post-WWII. According to the Plan, it was to fight poverty, hunger, desperation, and chaos, all of which could incite a population to take desperate measures, abandoning democracy. Even after WWII’s conclusion, European countries were left in turmoil as unemployment and food shortages were rampant and the large-scale destruction of building was not sufficient in supporting populations. In the cartoon, “He’s finally getting the hang of it,” the American taxpayer is running along side “Europe,” supporting the European efforts of recovery. The “American Taxpayer” is dressed in business close, demonstrating that the US has already reverted to a normal, not war-oriented economy. Meanwhile, “Europe” is dressed in seemingly more infantile and torn clothes; Europe has not reformed its society and remains plagued by issues that it felt pre-war, and it did not emerge from WWII as unscathed as the United States did. Although the United States military lost around 417,000 soldiers, this casualty figure was low relative to European and Asian countries’ losses, especially the USSR, and the US domestic infrastructure remained intact, unaffected by German bombings. Even previous to WWII destruction, Europe had depended on American support. Britain had lacked the funds to trade with America and the resources to fight without the Americans’ support. Now, Americans were hopeful that the Marshall Plan would ensure the European redevelopment of its self-sufficiency. Relative to the European continent’s great size and population, the United States was smaller. Thus, the smaller man was leading the much larger man in the cartoon, demonstrating that American, post-WWII, was much more powerful than the larger, European countries and was well on its way to becoming a “Superpower” alongside the USSR. The Marshall Plan was successful: America helped Europe’s attainment of an “economic miracle,” the improvement of European economies to surpass pre-WWII levels. However, one must remember that Europe pre-WWII was in the midst of a worldwide depression; thus, production and economic activity must have been already lower than average. Despite American assistance for European emergence from a stagnated economy and collapsed infrastructure, the United States did hold partial responsibility for some of the degradation of the European economy. The institution of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, which implemented a restrictive tariff in America and spurring similar tariffs in European countries, limiting international trade. The title of the cartoon, “He’s finally getting it,” refers to the fact that Europe had finally begun to revert to a prosperous economy after its stagnated economy.

Secretary of State George Marshall introduced the Marshall Plan during his Harvard Commencement Address. However, the statistical details of the Plan were not specified. Marshall likely introduced the Plan in this venue to appeal to and to gain the support of the next generation’s possible leaders, graduates and students of Harvard. By first gaining their support, alongside other important intellectuals’, he would quickly build a support system that would be hard to resist or doubt. This cartoon, “He’s finally getting the hang of it,” was illustrated by Dorman Smith in the Phoenix Gazette. Arizona’s population had grown exponentially after WWII. Soldiers stationed in Arizona later returned with their families to settle down. Thus, the Phoenix Gazette provided for thousands of veterans who held an emotional connection to Europe and would hope to see their valiant efforts not go to waste through the further degradation of Europe. The Gazette is appealing to these veterans through the depiction of Europe actually on its way to recovery.

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APC: Kennedy Versus Khrushchev

While the author of this cartoon is unknown, it can be seen that both John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev are at a stalemate. At the time, Khrushchev was the Premier of the Soviet Union and Kennedy was the President. The two men seem to be arm-wrestling while siting on hydrogen bombs. During their arm-wrestle both men seem very tense not knowing which will push the button to trigger the bombs both men are sitting on. Although Kennedy seems stressed, Khrushchev is the one who is sweating bombshells during the match. The United States and the USSR were locked in a struggle that seemed to be evenly matched in the cartoon. No one is depicted as stronger or more powerful than the other. The stakes are high as they are sitting on deadly weapons which will end lives. There does not appear to be an end in sight as neither seem to be dominant, however when it does end it does not look to be a positive result. The United States was terribly afraid that the USSR would use their creation of the hydrogen bomb against them. In the 1960 presidential campaign, Kennedy positioned himself to the right of the Republican Eisenhower Administration by promising to close the "missile gap," the supposed Soviet superiority in long-range nuclear missiles. Kennedy's "missile gap" charges were false, the United States had many more intercontinental ballistic missiles than the Soviets. Still, Kennedy's promises of a strong and aggressive Cold War posture appealed to voters, who narrowly elected him over vice president Richard Nixon. Kennedy's reputation as a strong Cold Warrior soon ran aground in Cuba, where he was humiliated in the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion and where the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis nearly led to nuclear war. Frightened by the near-disaster of the Missile Crisis, Kennedy pursued more moderate policies with regard to the Soviet Union.



KHW: “However, we’ve Been Pretty Successful in Keeping American Newspapermen out of China” by Herb Block (aka Herblock) January 6th 1957 - Washington Post

Herb Block was born in Chicago on October 13th 1909 and first began his career as an editorial cartoonist in 1929. He worked for the Chicago Daily News, served in the U.S. Army during WWII, and then came to the Washington Post in 1946 where he worked for more than fifty years. Throughout his career Herb Block won many prestigious including three Pulitzer Prizes for editorial cartooning in 1942, 1954, and 1979. He drew his last cartoon in August 2001 and died on October 7th the same year. Herblock was a liberal and therefore was likely to criticize republican President Eisenhower’s politics. The above cartoon was published in the Washington Post on New Years Day in 1957 and refers to the failure to stop Soviet penetration in the Middle East. The Suez Crisis, also known as the Tripartite Aggression, was a war fought between Britain, France, and Israel against Egypt. Egypt decided to nationalize the Suez Canal after Britain and the U.S. withdrew support for the Aswan Dam which was a reaction to the Egyptian Recognition of The Republic of China during a period of tension between Taiwan and China. It was during this time of vulnerability that the Soviet Union took up an increased interest in the Middle East, mainly for their oil. Eisenhower greatly opposed the allied response to the Suez Crisis and pressed congress for permission to send economic and military aide to the Middle East to counter communism through the Eisenhower Doctrine. Several months earlier, Eisenhower’s State department made it illegal for newsmen to travel to communist China as a way of controlling communist propaganda in the U.S. The war between capitalism and communism was the major ideological factor in the Cold War. The elimination of any middle ground left no room for compromise and made it so that there was only two options: communist or not. This black and white way of thinking was the reason for the length of the Cold War. With no possibility for a compromise there was a bleak outlook for a solution. Herblock was criticizing the inability of the U.S. to control the larger issues in the Middle East by comparing it to the control of the media in China. The Eisenhower Doctrine was viewed as a success in some respects but failed in that the Middle Eastern nations took free weapons and maintained relations with the Soviet Union. Created for the American public, Herblock’s cartoon was intended to mock the foreign policies of President Eisenhower and was likely to grasp the attention of most since the anti-communist feelings were widespread in America at the time. Produced by the Washington Post which was a widely recognized news publication that began in 1877 and illustrated by an award winning cartoonist it is likely that the cartoon was reliable however its validity did not guarantee public approval. Supporters of Eisenhower’s politics and people who viewed the Eisenhower Doctrine as a success were likely to disagree with Herblock’s interpretation. Nonetheless this cartoon brought to light something that was overlooked during the Cold War. That something would be the grey area. Simply because someone disagreed with some anti-communist actions did not make them a communist and vice versa. Once this realization was made, compromise would also be achieved.

NMD-  We Tried Everything but Dynamite

 

Jay "Ding" Darling is the author responsible for this cartoon in particular. Born in Norwood, Michigan and a graduate of Beloit College in Wisconsin, Mr. Darling was one of the United States' premiere political cartoonists of the Atomic Age and of the Depression. A moderate liberal, Darling was a major proponent of conservationism and environmental awareness. He was appointed to be the head of the U.S. Biological Service by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and was responsible for the creation of the Duck Stamps and for the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island. This political cartoon was created by Darling for the New York Herald Tribune in 1947, partially in response to the Soviet activity in the Greece and Turkey, as well as the Soviet blockade of all land routes through East Germany into West Berlin. Prior knowledge which can be utilized in the observation of this cartoon include the fact that when this cartoon was created, the Berlin blockade was in full effect, which proved the Soviet's intentions of keeping the westerners in every way out of the dealing of the USSR and the rest of ther communist block of nations in Eastern Europe. Another piece of information includes the knowledge of Winston Churchill's speech in Fulton, Missouri, during which he coined the use of the words "iron curtain", in which he said, "...a great iron curtain has descended across Europe." The audience for which this was created was the common New Yorker, as well as the common American who might subscribe to the newspaper. The reason this cartoon was created was to demonstrate to the American people just how effective the iron curtain was at concealing the USSR and Eastern Europe from the rest of the world, and just how much effort would be needed in order to break the curtain. The main idea of the cartoon is that dismantling the Iron Curtain is not a task which would be taken lightly by the United States government, and that it would require an insane amount of effort from both the United States as well as her western European allies. The imagery in the cartoon also demonstrates that the nations have tried everything, as evidenced by the can of oil, to try and give themselves some leverage over the USSR but have failed to do so, which was evidenced by the failure of the extension of the Marshall plan to the nations of Eastern Europe. The imagery also depicts the USA has the biggest and strongest of the three Allied powers, with France being the smallest and weakest, with the British being the intermediate. The cartoon also depicts a newcomer, and a sister of the group, that being the United Nations. However, the cartoon is very scornful of the United Nations, and depicts the organization as one which is only designed as to look pretty, and does not have a great deal of strength in the conduct of world politics. The cartoon is significant because it demonstrates the "resistance is futile" attitude which the democratic governments of the world would demonstrate in the years to come in dealing with the USSR as a whole. They recognized that nothing they could do together, without committing actions which would risk starting World War III, could bring a more speedy downfall of the Iron Curtain. The nations merely recognize they would have to learn to live with the USSR as a global player, prevent any more nations from falling to communism, and hope that overtime, the unsustainable policies of the USSR would result in its ultimate downfall.