In defense of democracies around the world, President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his annual message to Congress on January 6, 1941, articulated the aims of the nation facing the threat of a world at war. “We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms” he stated. Two of these freedoms were specifically included in the Bill of Rights, freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Two were freedoms deeply desired by a generation confronted by economic depression and the threat of dictatorships, freedom from want and freedom from fear.
Artist Norman Rockwell dramatized those aims in a series of paintings that appeared as covers for the Saturday Evening Post and as posters produced by the Office of War Information for its war bond campaign in 1943.
The object is a political cartoon hand-drawn on white paper by Clifford Berryman in Washington, D.C. in 1899. It depicts American General Elwell Stephen Otis and a buzzing bee carrying a label reading "Seat of Government." A penciled title is inscribed along the lower edge that reads "How Otis Surrounded Aguinaldo." The date "Nov.17, 99" is inscribed in pencil in the upper left. The drawing is signed "Berryman" in the lower right area of the illustration.
This drawing concerns the Battle of Manila of 1899 in the Philippine-American War. It depicts American General Elwell Otis with enlarged hands presumably containing the Philippines, with the title referencing his United States victory over the Philippines led by President Emilio Aguinaldo.
The buzzing bee was a device used by Berryman to indicate news, as in "buzz."
This object is an original pen and ink political cartoon hand drawn by Clifford Berryman on white paper circa 1912 in Washington, D.C. The title, possibly not finalized, reads "Frightful Figuring for Old Figgers" and is inscribed as well as crossed out in pencil. The drawing depicts Charles Henry Grosvenor (Republican Congressman from Ohio) busily tallying numeric scores for William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Robert M. La Follette (Sr.) of Wisconsin, and Albert B. Cummins of Iowa. He says to himself: "Figgerin' isn't what it used to be!" Various numbers appear in the background. He is surrounded by books he may have authored (real or perhaps imaginary for the purpose of this illustration) with titles such as "Grosvenor on Election Statistics," Grosvenor's Political Mathematics," and "Old Figgers or How I Calculate." Berryman's number 2235[5?] is stamped twice in blue ink in the lower right corner. The drawing is signed "Berryman" in the lower right area of the illustration.
Grosvenor had a lengthy and varied career in American politics. He worked as the statistician for the Republican Party because of his interest in numeric political calculations and became nicknamed "Old Figgers." He supported Taft but his arithmetic showed Roosevelt was in the lead - hence, the title "Frightful Figuring for 'Old Figgers.'"
Newspaper cartoonist Clifford Berryman lampooned presidential candidate William Taft for using the issue of tariff reform to fill his wallet in this 1908 drawing.
A homemade poster calling for the impeachment of President Nixon. The audio tape, eraser and scissors call attention to the 18 1/2 minute gap in a tape from June 20, 1972. Conversation on the tape included the Watergate break-in.
This object is an original pen and ink political cartoon hand drawn on white paper by Clifford Berryman circa 1912 in Washington, D.C. It depicts the face in the clouds of William Howard Taft smiling down upon Secretary of the Interior James R. Garfield and Chief Forester Gifford Pinchot, who are wading into waves labeled "Renomination Surf." Each is wearing a floatation pillow labelled "Taft 1912." There are two Berryman numbers, 12343 and 12344, stamped in blue ink in the lower right corner. The drawing is signed "Berryman" in the lower right area of the illustration.
The object is a political cartoon hand-drawn in ink on white paper by Clifford Berryman in Washington, D.C. It depicts a seated and beleagured bear named "Russia" leaning against a leafless, bare tree with a sign "Posted- Lenin" signifying ownership of the surrounding land with other leafless, bare trees. A bone is on the ground near the bear, who appears too tired to reach the bone, and the bear is saying "Everyone warned me against this Soviet wilderness." Berryman signed the drawing in the lower right area of the illustration.
This work appears to be a commentary on the political transition from Russia to Soviet Russia which occurred in 1917 with Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin as the founding head.
By the late 19th century, symbols of home and family life had become mainstays of American political culture. The home became a setting in which the policies of the major parties and their presidential candidates played out. This pamphlet from Eisenhower’s 1952 presidential campaign suggests that voting for Eisenhower will “sweep out the mess” of government.
The coat-of-arms of the Belgian Province of Hainaut was the design inspiration for this piece. The Mechlin bobbin lace motif depicting four lions and a crown was made by Belgian lace makers during World War I and was likely intended to be inserted into a larger item. See a similar motif in TE*E383965.
The Great Seal of the United States, often used in American decorative arts, provided the design inspiration for this Mechlin bobbin lace. It was made by Belgian lace makers during World War I and was likely intended to be inserted into a larger item.
The successful presidential campaign of Republican Abraham Lincoln perfected the nighttime torchlight parade as an entertainment of unprecedented scale that attracted the attention of men, women, and children. The concept originated in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1858, and was revived for Lincoln’s campaign by the city’s young Republicans. Tailored oil-resistant enameled cloth capes and hats such as this one distinguished the marchers, some of whom were too young to vote. Their example spread from Hartford to cities in the northeastern United States, which contributed traveling companies totaling some ten thousand uniformed men with torches to a Grand Procession in New York City on October 3, 1860. The martial spectacle—including fireworks, Lincoln “Wide Awake” transparencies, and floats—created envy among the city’s Democrats, and panic among southern sympathizers who regarded the torch-lit parade as a provocation.