On October 30th, 1938 a “Very grave and serious situation” occurred in Trenton, New Jersey that, according to city manager Paul Morton, “crippled the communication facilities” of their police department. According to Morton, 2000 phone calls were received in 2 hours with many callers concerned that relatives had been killed in the “catastrophe” that was broadcast over WABC radio.
This is the third and final post in a three-part series on the Uncle Sam poster for the Security of War Information campaign. Today’s post is written by Daniel Dancis, an Archivist in the Textual Processing Branch at the National Archives in College Park, MD. In October 1943, Representative Harold Knutson (R-MN) charged the U.S. … Continue reading Propaganda, Politics, and the Personification of FDR: The Uncle Sam Poster Controversy
This is the first of three posts about the Uncle Sam poster for the Security of War Information campaign. Today’s post is written by Daniel Dancis, an Archivist in the Textual Processing Branch at the National Archives in College Park, MD. In 1943, Mexican born artist Leon Helguera was commissioned by the U.S. Office of … Continue reading “I’m Counting on You” by Leon Helguera: A Mexican Artist Puts His Stamp on Uncle Sam
Today’s post is written by Daniel Dancis, an Archivist in the Textual Processing Branch at the National Archives in College Park, MD. In the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration there are many pictures that reflect the American experience. The famous riveter in We Can Do it, or Uncle Sam in I Want … Continue reading Americans All by Leon Helguera: Appealing to Hispanics on the Home Front in World War II
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. As numerous scholars have demonstrated, World War II in the Pacific had a distinct racial aspect to it.[1] The Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor reinforced a long-standing strand of American racial animosity towards … Continue reading Watching Out for Your Friends: 1942 Guidance for U.S. Propaganda in the Pacific During World War II
Today’s post is written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park. World War II was not only a war of battleships and bullets. Words, in the form of overt and covert propaganda and psychological warfare, played an important role. See the post Airplanes over France for examples … Continue reading War of Words: Race-Based Propaganda During World War II
Today’s post is written by Daniel Dancis, an Archivist in the Textual Processing Branch at the National Archives, College Park. Americans and cinema enthusiasts the world over will be tuning in this weekend to watch who will receive the Academy Awards at the 90th Oscars ceremony. Someone from the Pentagon may also be paying attention … Continue reading With the Pentagon’s Blessing: Hollywood, the Military, and Don Baruch
Today’s post is written by Daniel Dancis, an Archivist in the Textual Processing Branch at the National Archives, College Park, MD. Antonio Arias Bernal, an accomplished Mexican political cartoonist, came to Washington, D.C. in 1942 at the invitation of the U.S. government to create editorial cartoons to promote the Allied war effort. Prior to being … Continue reading “Arias Bernal’s Trip to Washington”: a Mexican Cartoonist Joins the War Effort
By David Langbart Airplanes filled the sky over Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. D-Day. Some planes dropped bombs; some planes towed gliders; some planes dropped paratroopers; some planes dropped . . . paper. Paper in the form of propaganda leaflets. The propaganda was aimed both at the French and at the Germans. Two days … Continue reading Airplanes Over France, June 6, 1944
By Jason Clingerman In June 1954, Guatemalan president Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán was overthrown in a coup that was orchestrated by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and carried out by the Guatemalan exile Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas. Arbenz was targeted in large part because of his land reform policies that affected U.S. companies, namely the United … Continue reading The CIA in Guatemala
