BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Library of Congress -- Exhibit (Graphic Arts): Pointing Their Pens: Herblock and Fellow Cartoonists Confront the Issues

DC -- Library of Congress -- Exhibit (Graphic Arts): Pointing Their Pens: Herblock and Fellow Cartoonists Confront the Issues:

Bruce Guthrie Photos Home Page: [Click here] to go to Bruce Guthrie Photos home page.

Description of Pictures: Pointing Their Pens: Herblock and Fellow Cartoonists Confront the Issues
March 21, 2015–March 19, 2016
Editorial cartoonists, like all Americans, do not always agree with one another. Issues on which the nation was particularly divided in the twentieth century—the question of U.S. intervention prior to entering World War II, the Red Scare, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, and events in the Middle East—provide the framework for this exhibition. These topics were particularly fertile ground for editorial cartoonists.
The exhibition offers viewers an extensive opportunity to experience the work of Herbert L. Block (1909–2001)—commonly known as Herblock—alongside the work of his contemporaries over the period of four decades and provides visual insights into key moments that shaped the United States in the twentieth century. Pointing Their Pens draws from the comprehensive collections of cartoon art acquired by the Library of Congress since the early 1900s, including the Herbert L. Block Collection and the Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature.

Recognize anyone? If you recognize specific folks (or other stuff) and I haven't labeled them, please identify them for the world. Click the little pencil icon

underneath the file name (just above the picture). Spammers need not apply.

Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

Accessing as Spider: The system has identified your IP as being a spider.
IP Address: 18.218.168.16 -- Domain: Amazon Technologies
I love well-behaved spiders! They are, in fact, how most people find my site. Unfortunately, my network has a limited bandwidth and pictures take up bandwidth. Spiders ask for lots and lots of pages and chew up lots and lots of bandwidth which slows things down considerably for regular folk. To counter this, you'll see all the text on the page but the images are being suppressed. Also, some system options like merges are being blocked for you.
Note: Permission is NOT granted for spiders, robots, etc to use the site for AI-generation purposes. I'm sure you're thrilled by your ability to make revenue from my work but there's nothing in that for my human users or for me.
If you are in fact human, please email me at guthrie.bruce@gmail.com and I can check if your designation was made in error. Given your number of hits, that's unlikely but what the hell.

Help? The Medium (Email) links are for screen viewing and emailing. You'll want bigger sizes for printing. [Click here for additional help]

[1] LOCPT_150327_001_STITCH.JPG

[2] LOCPT_150327_003.JPG	[3] LOCPT_150327_007.JPG	[4] LOCPT_150327_010.JPG
[5] LOCPT_150327_017.JPG	[6] LOCPT_150327_019.JPG	[7] LOCPT_150327_025.JPG
[8] LOCPT_150327_036.JPG	[9] LOCPT_150327_041.JPG	[10] LOCPT_150327_043.JPG
[11] LOCPT_150327_051.JPG	[12] LOCPT_150327_054.JPG	[13] LOCPT_150327_064.JPG
[14] LOCPT_150327_067.JPG	[15] LOCPT_150327_074.JPG	[16] LOCPT_150327_081.JPG
[17] LOCPT_150327_084.JPG	[18] LOCPT_150327_094.JPG	[19] LOCPT_150327_098.JPG
[20] LOCPT_150327_105.JPG	[21] LOCPT_150327_108.JPG	[22] LOCPT_150327_113.JPG
[23] LOCPT_150327_116.JPG	[24] LOCPT_150327_119.JPG	[25] LOCPT_150327_127.JPG
[26] LOCPT_150327_129.JPG	[27] LOCPT_150327_140.JPG	[28] LOCPT_150327_143.JPG
[29] LOCPT_150327_154.JPG	[30] LOCPT_150327_156.JPG	[31] LOCPT_150327_159.JPG
[32] LOCPT_150327_162.JPG	[33] LOCPT_150327_167.JPG	[34] LOCPT_150327_171.JPG
[35] LOCPT_150327_182.JPG	[36] LOCPT_150327_196.JPG	[37] LOCPT_150327_204.JPG
[38] LOCPT_150327_208.JPG	[39] LOCPT_150327_211.JPG	[40] LOCPT_150327_215.JPG
[41] LOCPT_150327_222.JPG	[42] LOCPT_150327_228.JPG	[43] LOCPT_150327_230.JPG
[44] LOCPT_150327_234.JPG	[45] LOCPT_150327_242.JPG	[46] LOCPT_150327_243.JPG
[47] LOCPT_150327_246.JPG	[48] LOCPT_150327_250.JPG	[49] LOCPT_150327_254.JPG
[50] LOCPT_150327_256.JPG	[51] LOCPT_150327_264.JPG	[52] LOCPT_150327_270.JPG
[53] LOCPT_150327_272.JPG	[54] LOCPT_150327_278.JPG	[55] LOCPT_150327_281.JPG
[56] LOCPT_150327_292.JPG	[57] LOCPT_150327_294.JPG	[58] LOCPT_150327_297.JPG
[59] LOCPT_150327_301.JPG	[60] LOCPT_150327_307.JPG	[61] LOCPT_150327_312.JPG
[62] LOCPT_150327_316.JPG	[63] LOCPT_150327_322.JPG	[64] LOCPT_150327_325.JPG
[65] LOCPT_150327_330.JPG	[66] LOCPT_150327_333.JPG	[67] LOCPT_150327_340.JPG
[68] LOCPT_150327_357.JPG	[69] LOCPT_150327_359.JPG	[70] LOCPT_150327_361.JPG
[71] LOCPT_150327_368.JPG	[72] LOCPT_150327_371.JPG	[73] LOCPT_150327_378.JPG
[74] LOCPT_150327_379.JPG	[75] LOCPT_150327_389.JPG	[76] LOCPT_150327_399.JPG
[77] LOCPT_151005_001.JPG	[78] LOCPT_151005_005.JPG	[79] LOCPT_151005_009.JPG
[80] LOCPT_151005_013.JPG	[81] LOCPT_151005_022.JPG	[82] LOCPT_151005_025.JPG
[83] LOCPT_151005_030.JPG	[84] LOCPT_151005_034.JPG	[85] LOCPT_151005_038.JPG
[86] LOCPT_151005_041.JPG	[87] LOCPT_151005_048.JPG	[88] LOCPT_151005_053.JPG
[89] LOCPT_151005_058.JPG	[90] LOCPT_151005_062.JPG	[91] LOCPT_151005_071.JPG
[92] LOCPT_151005_072.JPG	[93] LOCPT_151005_074.JPG	[94] LOCPT_151005_082.JPG
[95] LOCPT_151005_086.JPG	[96] LOCPT_151005_089.JPG	[97] LOCPT_151005_096.JPG
[98] LOCPT_151005_100.JPG	[99] LOCPT_151005_107.JPG	[100] LOCPT_151005_110.JPG
[101] LOCPT_151005_116.JPG	[102] LOCPT_151005_119.JPG	[103] LOCPT_151005_122.JPG
[104] LOCPT_151005_133.JPG	[105] LOCPT_151005_135.JPG	[106] LOCPT_151005_138.JPG
[107] LOCPT_151005_144.JPG	[108] LOCPT_151005_148.JPG	[109] LOCPT_151005_155.JPG
[110] LOCPT_151005_162.JPG	[111] LOCPT_151005_166.JPG	[112] LOCPT_151005_169.JPG
[113] LOCPT_151005_177.JPG	[114] LOCPT_151005_180.JPG	[115] LOCPT_151005_186.JPG
[116] LOCPT_151005_191.JPG	[117] LOCPT_151005_195.JPG	[118] LOCPT_151005_200.JPG
[119] LOCPT_151005_203.JPG	[120] LOCPT_151005_210.JPG	[121] LOCPT_151005_213.JPG
[122] LOCPT_151005_219.JPG	[123] LOCPT_151005_226.JPG	[124] LOCPT_151005_230.JPG
[125] LOCPT_151005_236.JPG	[126] LOCPT_151005_244.JPG	[127] LOCPT_151005_250.JPG
[128] LOCPT_151005_254.JPG	[129] LOCPT_151005_257.JPG	[130] LOCPT_151005_263.JPG
[131] LOCPT_151005_266.JPG	[132] LOCPT_151005_272.JPG	[133] LOCPT_151005_274.JPG
[134] LOCPT_151005_278.JPG	[135] LOCPT_151005_280.JPG	[136] LOCPT_151005_283.JPG
[137] LOCPT_151005_289.JPG	[138] LOCPT_151005_292.JPG	[139] LOCPT_151005_299.JPG
[140] LOCPT_151005_303.JPG	[141] LOCPT_151005_310.JPG	[142] LOCPT_151005_313.JPG
[143] LOCPT_151005_320.JPG	[144] LOCPT_151005_325.JPG	[145] LOCPT_151005_333.JPG
[146] LOCPT_151005_335.JPG	[147] LOCPT_151005_341.JPG	[148] LOCPT_151005_345.JPG
[149] LOCPT_151005_352.JPG	[150] LOCPT_151005_356.JPG	[151] LOCPT_151005_362.JPG
[152] LOCPT_151005_370.JPG

Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. LOCPT_150327_003.JPG: Pointing Their Pens: Herblock and Fellow Cartoonists Confront the Issues
2. LOCPT_150327_010.JPG: Pointing Their Pens: Herblock and Fellow Cartoonists Confront the Issues Editorial cartoonists, like all Americans, do not always agree with one another. Their commentary, in fact, reflects the divergent opinions of the newspapers in which their cartoons appear, which, in turn, often influences or serves to gauge the political attitudes of their readership. Issues on which the nation was particularly divided in the twentieth century -- the question of U.S. intervention prior to entering World War II, the Red Scare, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, and events in the Middle East -- provide the framework for this exhibition. These topics were particularly fertile ground for editorial cartoonists. Pointing Their Pens allows for comparisons of the ways in which cartoonists react and interpret current events, develop their own distinct visual vocabularies, and convey their diverse political points of view. The exhibition offers viewers an extensive opportunity to experience the work of Herbert L. Block (1909–2001) -- commonly known as Herblock -- alongside the work of his contemporaries over the period of four decades and provides visual insights into key moments that shaped the United States in the twentieth century. Pointing Their Pens draws from the comprehensive collections of cartoon art acquired by the Library of Congress since the early 1900s, which include generous donations by cartoonists and their heirs. The exhibition is anchored by selections from the Herbert L. Block Collection of more than 14,000 drawings, donated to the Library by the Herb Block Foundation in 2002. Herblock worked as an editorial cartoonist at the Chicago Daily News, for the Newspaper Enterprise Association, and the Washington Post. During his seventy-two-year career, Herblock won four Pulitzer Prizes for his cartoons. The exhibition also draws heavily on the Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature which comprises more than 17,000 original editorial cartoon drawings by hundreds of men and women, donated to the Library in 2001. The collection, spanning three centuries, is distinctive and unparalleled in the depth of its holdings. Pointing Their Pens allows visitors an opportunity to explore and appreciate the art and expressive power of the editorial cartoon.
3. LOCPT_150327_019.JPG: World War II: Before the United States entered World War II in December 1941, cartoonists, like the rest of the United States, were divided over the issue of American intervention. Although public opinion initially leaned toward an isolationist position in response to the European war, by late 1941, 70 percent of the American people thought that defeating Germany was more important than staying out of the war. After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor most Americans ceased to be ambivalent and threw themselves into the war effort. Herblock worked for the conservative Newspaper Enterprise Association from 1933 to 1943 and drew the ire of his editor for drawing cartoons increasingly in favor of intervention in Europe. However, during the same period, many of his fellow cartoonists discounted Hitler or chose to focus on national defense.
4. LOCPT_150327_025.JPG: EDWIN MARCUS, New York Times Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist Party achieved control of the Reichstag in 1933, where they established their vicious rule by decree and ruthlessly governed the Third Reich. As the Nazi's began to attack Jews and communists, the press widely characterized then Gestapo head Hermann Goering as the real power and claimed that "Chancellor Hitler is merely the window-dressing." Edwin Marcus, the New York Times editorial cartoonist for fifty years, between 1908 and 1958, mistakenly suggested that Hitler did not have the personality necessary to lead the German people. Edwin Marcus (1885–1961). The Misfit, 1933. Published in the New York Times, March 26, 1933. India ink, graphite, and opaque white drawing. Gift of Edwin Marcus.
5. LOCPT_150327_043.JPG: JERRY COSTELLO, Albany Knickerbocker News The day before Czechoslovakia capitulated to the German Army, Jerry Costello drew the emaciated German people starving as manufacturing overtook agricultural labor. Although German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels had admitted on March 5, 1939, his country was barely able to feed its people, his goal had been to goad the German people into working toward self-sufficiency, not to undermine the war effort. Costello spent forty years of his forty-seven-year career as a cartoonist at the Albany Knickerbocker News, from 1922 to 1962. Jerry Costello (1897–1971). Feeling the Pinch, 1939. Published in the Albany Knickerbocker News, March 14, 1939. India ink, crayon, and opaque white drawing. Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature.
6. LOCPT_150327_051.JPG: To Wally Miller with best wishes Jerry Costello 1939
7. LOCPT_150327_064.JPG: HERBLOCK, Newspaper Enterprise Association Although the United States did not officially declare war until December 8, 1941, it increasingly participated in the Allied war effort. Herblock was an early supporter of defense against German aggression. Although the Dutch government had surrendered to the German Army on May 16, 1940, Americans, with the permission of the British and Dutch governments in exile, occupied Dutch Guiana, the South American country, now known as Suriname, beginning on November 23, 1941. The country held rich bauxite mines, coveted by the military for its use in manufacturing aluminum airplanes. Herblock (1909–2001). "Look -- Americans in Your Territory," 1941. Published by the Newspaper Enterprise Association, November 27, 1941. India ink, crayon, and opaque white drawing. Herbert L. Block Collection.
8. LOCPT_150327_074.JPG: CLIFFORD BERRYMAN, Washington Star Using a small airplane as a metaphor for national defense, Washington Star cartoonist Clifford Berryman proposed enhancing the national defense program by revising the 1939 Neutrality Act. President Roosevelt argued that arming shipping merchants was crucial to support his Lend-Lease program, which provided U.S. weapons and other goods to European allies. During his fifty-five-year career as a cartoonist in Washington, D.C., Berryman won a Pulitzer Prize for his art. Clifford Berryman (1869–1949). It'll Fly Better When That Other Wing Is On, 1941. Published in the Washington Star, October 13, 1941. India ink over graphite drawing. Gift of Clifford Berryman.
9. LOCPT_150327_084.JPG: HERBLOCK, Newspaper Enterprise Association The Lend-Lease Act, signed into law on March 11, 1941, was celebrated by Herblock, as the first ships and airplanes headed toward Europe and factories increased production to meet the needs of what the cartoonist called "the struggle for civilization." President Roosevelt and Secretary of State Henry Morgenthau, Jr., asked Congress for an additional 3.5 billion dollars (in tax revenue) with which to infuse military supplies into Europe to help the Allies defeat the Axis powers. Herblock (1909–2001). The Struggle for Civilization, 1941. Published by the Newspaper Enterprise Association, April 18, 1941. India ink, crayon, and opaque white drawing. Herbert L. Block Collection.
10. LOCPT_150327_094.JPG: Red Scare: In the 1950s the nation feared the increase in communist-run countries after World War II. Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy's four-year public smear campaign began in 1950 and paralleled the intimidation tactics already underway by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), which had been founded in 1938 to root out subversive activities related to communism. McCarthy's initial popularity with the American public was fed by the Cold War-fueled fear of communist influence, which led some cartoonists to agree with him. However, by January 1954, a Gallop poll found that only 50 percent of the American public supported McCarthy. The televised McCarthy-Army hearings later that year further eroded his public support. In June 1954, McCarthy was censured and by December condemned by the Senate.
11. LOCPT_150327_098.JPG: HUGH HUTTON, The Philadelphia Inquirer In January 1947, Carl Aldo Marzani was arrested and imprisoned for being an active member of the Communist Party while in the employ of the State Department. At the time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation thoroughly investigated 314 employees, leading to dismissals and resignations. Hutton appears to believe the firings validated the methods of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Hugh McMillen Hutton spent thirty-five years as an editorial cartoonist at the Philadelphia Inquirer. Hugh Hutton (1896–1976). They Just Crawl in Everywhere, 1947. Published in the Philadelphia Inquirer, January 20, 1947. Crayon over graphite drawing. Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature.
12. LOCPT_150327_108.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post Herblock drew parallels between the tactics of Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy's mud-slinging and Soviet Union propaganda, finding each approach unacceptable. He demanded that moderate Republicans take responsibility for McCarthy's actions. In reaction to the quest for communists in the United States, Herblock wrote, "there was real pleasure in having an outlet for my anger instead of imploding with it." Herblock (1909–2001). "You Go Along with That Idea?" 1951. Published in the Washington Post, June 17, 1951. India ink, graphite, and opaque white drawing. Herbert L. Block Collection.
13. LOCPT_150327_119.JPG: JERRY COSTELLO, Albany Knickerbocker News Referring to Harry Truman's 1948 speech in which he labeled a House Un-American Activities Committee investigation a "red herring," as well as a labor union official's criticism of Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy and his fellow senators for creating a "witch hunt," cartoonist Jerry Costello depicts communism as a vicious threat to the United States. McCarthy had just launched an investigation into the Army Signal Corps when Costello drew this cartoon. In 1954, the Army hearings became McCarthy's undoing. Jerry Costello (1897–1971). How We Tag a Viper, 1953. Published in the Albany Knickerbocker News, September 3, 1953. India ink, graphite, and opaque white drawing. Gift of Jerry Costello, 1953.
14. LOCPT_150327_129.JPG: KEITH TEMPLE, New Orleans Times-Picayune In 1953, New York Judge Edward J. Dimock offered thirteen members of the Communist Party a trip to the Soviet Union, but the convicted men and women chose, instead, to serve prison sentences varying from one to three years. As New Orleans Times-Picayune cartoonist Keith Temple makes clear, eight were born in what became Iron Curtain countries. His sarcastic jab suggests that he was disgusted, but not surprised, that Communists from Soviet Bloc countries refused to move to the Soviet Union. Keith Temple (1899–1980). Can You Beat It? 1953. Published in the New Orleans Times-Picayune, February 5, 1953. India ink and crayon drawing. Gift of Keith Temple, 1953.
15. LOCPT_150327_143.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post As president-elect Dwight David Eisenhower prepared to steam ahead into office early in 1953, Herblock portrayed members of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), sliding back into the past. Herblock and other journalists feared that Eisenhower would not be able to control a right-wing Congress determined to root out communists from government. In looking out for the "little guy," Herblock targeted politicians whose sense of power endangered fellow Americans accused of being subversives. Herblock (1909–2001). [Eisenhower on campaign train; proposed investigations into past], 1953. Published in the Washington Post, January 2, 1953. India ink, graphite, and opaque white drawing. Herbert L. Block Collection.
16. LOCPT_150327_156.JPG: Ike looks a lot like Porky Pig to me
17. LOCPT_150327_159.JPG: Cold War: In the decades after World War II, mutual distrust between the United States and the Soviet Union led to international tension and the chilling threat of nuclear warfare in an era commonly called the "Cold War." As early as 1946, six out of every ten Americans believed that the Soviet Union was more interested in world dominance than world peace. Despite a series of ongoing disarmament talks, cartoonists -- like other Americans -- did not find solace in either Joseph Stalin's or Nikita Khrushchev's terms for peace in the 1950s and 1960s. Few American editorial cartoonists favored the Soviet government during the Cold War, but they had divergent responses to the fear of nuclear warfare.
18. LOCPT_150327_162.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post Tired of the Soviet propaganda offering peace at a steep penalty, Herblock uses an exhausted and leashed dove as a metaphor for the lack of real negotiation. In 1951, during Big Four talks in Paris, in which diplomats attempted to reunify Germany, Stalin's envoy Andrei Gromyko called for peace but successfully resisted surrendering Soviet-held territory. The Soviets initiated the conference, but the West argued the Soviets' true goal was to prevent Germany from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Herblock (1909–2001). "Oh, No -- Not Again -- I'm Tired," 1951. Published in the Washington Post, March 9, 1951. Graphite, India ink, and opaque white drawing. Herbert L. Block Collection.
19. LOCPT_150327_171.JPG: DON HESSE, St. Louis Globe-Democrat In 1953, Georgi Malenkov succeeded Joseph Stalin as premier of the Soviet Union and launched the "peace offensive" with the statement that there is "no litigious or unresolved question which could not be settled by peaceful means on the basis of the mutual agreement of the countries concerned." Don Hesse, cartoonist for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat between 1951 and 1984, believed that the "peace offensive" was merely propaganda that undermined Western defense. Don Hesse (1918–1985). Undermining Again, 1953. Published in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 1953. Graphite, India ink, opaque white, and blue pencil drawing. Gift of Don Hesse, 1954.
20. LOCPT_150327_182.JPG: JOHN FISCHETTI, Newspaper Enterprise Association Fearing they had inferior nuclear capacity, the Soviets launched the "peace offensive" in 1953, engaging in a propaganda campaign against the use of nuclear weapons. Cartoonist John Fischetti believed that the Soviets deceptively offered peace talks as a gesture to distract the West from their real intention, to overwhelm the "free world" with their military might. Fischetti worked for several newspapers during his thirty-nine-year career as an editorial cartoonist, including the Newspaper Enterprise Association between 1948 and 1962. John Fischetti (1916–1980). Carrot and the Stick, 1953. Published by the Newspaper Enterprise Association, 1953. Graphite, India ink, and opaque white drawing. Gift of John Fischetti, 1953.
21. LOCPT_150327_196.JPG: L. D. WARREN, Cincinnati Enquirer Using a rather menacing caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland, cartoonist L. D. Warren accuses Soviet premier Khrushchev of lying during the 1958 Geneva Summit aimed at reducing nuclear weapons. While calling for a peace summit, Khrushchev openly warned Europeans of the dangers to which their governments exposed them by failing to negotiate with him. At the same time, Khrushchev claimed, "I am proud to be regarded as a propagandist against war, for disarmament," which increased international mistrust of him. L. D. Warren spent the last twenty-six years of his fifty-year cartooning career with the Cincinnati Enquirer. L. D. Warren (1906–1992). Alice Remains in Wonderland, 1958. Published in the Cincinnati Enquirer, February 25, 1958. Crayon, ink, opaque white, and blue pencil drawing. Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature.
22. LOCPT_150327_204.JPG: To Art Wood from L.D. with nothing important to say!
23. LOCPT_150327_222.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev fostered change in the Soviet Union, introducing his new policy of "peaceful coexistence" with the West. Nevertheless, the Berlin Crisis of 1961, which took place after 20 percent of the East German population had fled to the West, pushed him to the point that his official statements became contradictory. Herblock uses the metaphor of a flight path to portray the circuitous nature of Soviet propaganda as the Berlin Wall sealed the border crossing. Herblock (1909–2001). Orbit, 1961. Published in the Washington Post, August 8, 1961. Graphite, India ink, and opaque white drawing. Herbert L. Block Collection.
24. LOCPT_150327_230.JPG: Vietnam: President Lyndon Baines Johnson believed in the "domino theory," the idea that when one country becomes communist then surrounding countries will also fall under communist influence. After he was elected president of the United States, Johnson sent the first American combat troops to Vietnam in February 1965. Although his domestic policies received high approval ratings from the American public, his popularity declined because of his administration's hawkish approach to the Vietnam Crisis. Some cartoonists disparaged President Johnson's decision to escalate the war, while others portrayed him as an ineffectual international leader. In 1968, in failing health and dealing with a Democratic Party divided over Vietnam, Johnson refused to run for reelection.
25. LOCPT_150327_234.JPG: DAN DOWLING, New York Herald Tribune Although Vietnam was an election issue in 1964, Dan Dowling overestimated its ability to undermine the Democratic Party and President Johnson. Johnson parlayed his landslide victory into a power base that permitted him to push Congress hard into passing his Great Society legislation. He also escalated the Vietnam War after his inauguration in 1965. It proved his undoing, and in 1968, he chose not to run for reelection. A Midwestern cartoonist by training, Dan Dowling worked for the New York Herald Tribune from 1949 to 1967. Dan Dowling (1909–1993). Reviewing the Situation in Vietnam, 1964. Published by the New York Herald Tribune, 1964. India ink, tonal film overlay, graphite, and opaque white drawing. Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature.
26. LOCPT_150327_246.JPG: EDMUND VALTMAN, Hartford Times Prior to the 1964 presidential election, President Johnson held back from escalating the war in Vietnam, knowing that it might affect the outcome of his ambitious domestic agenda. Edmund Valtman reacted to the news by depicting Johnson's nuclear arsenal undone by conventional weapons and guerrilla warfare. Valtman despised communism, having experienced Soviet rule in his native Estonia. He worked for the Hartford Times from 1951 until his retirement in 1975. Edmund Valtman (1914–2005). "Stick 'Em Up!" 1964. Published in the Hartford Times, June 9, 1964. India ink, tonal film overlay, and opaque white drawing. Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature.
27. LOCPT_150327_256.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post At the beginning of 1968, President Johnson appeared poised to run for an easy reelection. Although he had championed his Great Society domestic programs in his State of the Union speech a week earlier, Herblock felt that these measures had fallen victim to the escalating costs of the Vietnam War. Using Archibald Willard's famous painting The Spirit of '76 as a visual metaphor, Herblock castigated a presidential administration that failed to meet its own ambitious goals. Herblock (1909–2001). Spirit of Second Session, 1968. Published in the Washington Post, on January 26, 1968. Graphite, India ink, and opaque white drawing. Herbert L. Block Collection.
28. LOCPT_150327_272.JPG: GIB CROCKETT, Washington Star In 1967, as Americans divided over the Vietnam War, Washington Star cartoonist Gib Crockett depicted President Johnson as a slick medicine salesman, trying to sell peace to the American people, while heavily armed South Vietnamese Premier Nguyen Cao Ky interrupted his pitch. Johnson met Ky on the Pacific island of Guam to push for elections, which Ky held in 1967. During his forty-two-year career, Crockett worked as the chief editorial cartoonist at the Washington Star from 1965 to 1975. Gib Crockett. ‘Go ‘Way, Boy, You Bother Me!' 1967. Published in the Washington Star, March 21, 1967. India ink and crayon drawing. Gift of Gib Crockett, 1973.
29. LOCPT_150327_292.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post Satirizing President Johnson, who had said he was "eager to go more than halfway" in peace negotiations with North Vietnam, Herblock attacked the president for massive bombing throughout the country. Because Johnson had bombed North Vietnam in retribution for engaging in guerilla warfare in Laos, his overtures for peace were rejected. As Herblock indicates, the war escalated. Herblock (1909–2001). "We've Shown That We're Willing to Go More Than Half Way," 1967. Published in the Washington Post, March 12, 1967. Graphite, India ink, and opaque white drawing. Herbert L. Block Collection.
30. LOCPT_150327_297.JPG: Nixon: Within days of the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 1972, President Richard Nixon disavowed participation in the scandal. That November, he won a landslide victory over Democratic candidate George McGovern, garnering 60 percent of the popular vote. Between the break-in and his resignation on August 8, 1974, Nixon's approval ratings steadily declined and reached a low of 24 percent by the time he left office. During this period Washington Post readers opened their newspapers to 140 Herblock drawings about Watergate. As early as June 20, 1972 Herblock castigated President Nixon for his role in the Watergate break-in, even as other cartoonists continued to support his presidential campaign.
31. LOCPT_150327_301.JPG: GIB CROCKETT, Washington Star In this cartoon published after the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida, President Richard Nixon and Vice-President Spiro Agnew ask a Democratic Party donkey, drunk on the contents of a bottle labeled "Old McGovern," to repent and join their bandwagon. In his acceptance speech, Nixon courted Democrats, telling them to "join a new American majority." Ultimately, Nixon won a landslide victory in 1972. Gib Crockett (1912–2000). "Join Us, Brother -- It's Never too Late to Repent!" 1972. Published in the Washington Star, August 25, 1972. India ink, crayon, and opaque white drawing. Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature.
32. LOCPT_150327_316.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post Despite Attorney General Richard Kleindienst's promise to thoroughly investigate the break-in at the Democratic Party's headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., Herblock blamed both Kleindienst and President Nixon for covering up the scandal. Just days after Nixon was nominated by the Republican Party in Miami Beach, Florida, the U.S. Government Accountability Office announced that the president's reelection committee had violated the Federal Election Campaign Act. Herblock shared a Pulitzer Prize with fellow Washington Post colleagues Ben Bradlee, Bob Woodward, and Carl Bernstein for their Watergate coverage in 1973. Herblock (1909–2001). "Keep the Lid on Till after the Election!" 1972. Published in the Washington Post, August 29, 1972. India ink and graphite over blue pencil drawing. Herbert L. Block Collection.
33. LOCPT_150327_325.JPG: GIB CROCKETT, Washington Star During the 1972 presidential campaign, Democratic Party candidate George McGovern ran against President Nixon's corruption, and it backfired. In the final weeks before the election, voters found the Democrat untrustworthy. Here, Washington Star cartoonist Gib Crockett castigated McGovern for his negativity, hinting that his reputation was no better than Nixon's by depicting him equally splattered with paint. Gib Crockett (1912–2000). "Now That's What I Call a Good Likeness!" 1972. Published by the Washington Star, October 4, 1972. India ink and crayon drawing. Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature.
34. LOCPT_150327_333.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post A month after the Senate began its televised Watergate hearings, revelations regarding the extent of the cover-ups astounded Americans. Herblock found in the layers of rugs in the White House Oval Office a perfect metaphor. At the time he published this cartoon, several participants in the scandal had admitted to the investigating committee that they had been asked to commit perjury. Herblock (1909–2001). Floor-to-Ceiling Carpeting, 1973. Published in the Washington Post, June 12, 1973. India ink, graphite, and opaque white drawing. Herbert L. Block Collection.
35. LOCPT_150327_340.JPG: HERC FICKLEN, Dallas Morning News Much to the amazement of cartoonist Herc Ficklen's Texas longhorn, President Nixon appears to have superhuman capabilities as he flies above the scandals that erupted in the months leading up to the 1972 presidential election. Jack "Herc" Ficklen, having earned the nickname Hercules after a childhood feat of strength, spent thirty years cartooning at the Dallas Morning News. Herc Ficklen (1911–1980). Out of Range, 1972. Published in the Dallas Morning News, October 19, 1972. India ink, crayon, tonal film overlay, and opaque white drawing. Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature.
36. LOCPT_150327_357.JPG: He's flying above it all!
37. LOCPT_150327_359.JPG: Middle East: The Cold War conflict affected the Middle East as both the United States and the Soviet Union tried to expand their influence in the region beginning in the mid-1950s. It was a period when the wider American public was becoming more aware of the region, and the U.S. was emerging as both an economic and military power. Ongoing tension between the American and Soviet superpowers fueled numerous military conflicts in the region over the complex issue of Egyptian-Israeli relations. The regional turmoil commanded the attention of editorial cartoonists who tried to make sense, place blame, or convey their opinions of the discord.
38. LOCPT_150327_361.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post Criticizing the Soviets for funneling weapons through Czechoslovakia to arm Egypt, Herblock showed U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles reacting with dismay as Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov fed the conflagration around Israel. Although Western powers had been arming both sides prior to the conflict, they did not decrease their sales to Egypt in the months leading up to the 1956 Suez Crisis. When tensions ran high, both Israel and Egypt had plenty of weapons. Herblock (1909–2001). "Throw Another Log on the Fire," 1955. Published in the Washington Post, October 30, 1955. Graphite, India ink, and opaque white drawing. Herbert L. Block Collection.
39. LOCPT_150327_371.JPG: BILL GRAHAM, Arkansas Gazette Focusing on the residents of Gaza, cartoonist Bill Graham placed his dove of peace in the crossfire between the Czech-supplied Egyptian armaments and the Israeli bayonet. Graham drew cartoons for the Arkansas Gazette from 1948 until he retired in 1985. Bill Graham (1920–1994). Bird on a Fence, 1955. Published in the Arkansas Gazette, November 1, 1955. Crayon, India ink, opaque white, and blue pencil drawing. Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature.
40. LOCPT_150327_379.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post Accusing United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskj�ld of framing Israel for its occupation of Gaza, Herblock created a larger picture to understand Israeli and Egyptian actions during the Suez Crisis of 1956. When Egyptian president Gamal Nasser announced he had nationalized the Suez Canal, England, France, and Israel combined forces to occupy the area, while the United States sided with him in forcing their withdrawal. Ultimately, the Israelis withdrew from Sinai, but argued Gaza served as a buffer against terrorism from Egypt. Herblock (1909–2001). "Are You Sure You're Getting the Whole Picture Here?" 1957. Published in the Washington Post, January 28, 1957. Graphite, India ink, and opaque white drawing. Herbert L. Block Collection.
41. LOCPT_150327_389.JPG: JOHN KNOTT, Dallas News Despite American support for the Egyptian president during the Suez Crisis in 1956 and 1957, cartoonist John Knott pointed a finger at Gamal Nasser. France and England had used Israeli military might to control the Suez Canal. Once Nasser had the canal restored to Egyptian control, he instituted a blockade that halted shipping, inflaming international tensions. Knott, who trained as an artist in Munich, Germany, prior to World War I, worked for the Dallas News as a cartoonist from 1906 to 1957. John Knott (1878–1963). He Started It, 1957. Published by the Dallas News, February 10, 1957. India ink, crayon, and opaque white drawing. Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature.
42. LOCPT_150327_399.JPG: JIM LANGE, Daily Oklahoman In this timeless cartoon depicting an Arab choosing to follow the path of "an eye for an eye," Jim Lange quietly laid the blame on the Arab world for ongoing issues in the Middle East without explicitly showing violence or referring to a particular war. Lange drew editorial cartoons for the Daily Oklahoman in Oklahoma City for fifty-eight years, from 1950 to 2008. Jim Lange (1926–2009). The Road Back, 1970s. Published in the Daily Oklahoman, 1970s. India ink and opaque white drawing. Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature.
43. LOCPT_151005_005.JPG: Pointing Their Pens: Editorial cartoonists, like all Americans, do not always agree with one another. Their commentary, in fact, reflects the divergent opinions of the newspapers in which their cartoons appear, which, in turn, often influences or serves to gauge the political attitudes of their readership. Issues on which the nation was particularly divided in the twentieth century -- the question of U.S. intervention prior to entering World War II, the Red Scare, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, and events in the Middle East -- provide the framework for this exhibition. These topics were particularly fertile ground for editorial cartoonists. Pointing Their Pens allows for comparisons of the ways in which cartoonists react and interpret current events, develop their own distinct visual vocabularies, and convey their diverse political points of view. The exhibition offers viewers an extensive opportunity to experience the work of Herbert L. Block (1909–2001) -- commonly known as Herblock -- alongside the work of his contemporaries over the period of four decades and provides visual insights into key moments that shaped the United States in the twentieth century. Pointing Their Pens draws from the comprehensive collections of cartoon art acquired by the Library of Congress since the early 1900s, which include generous donations by cartoonists and their heirs. The exhibition is anchored by selections from the Herbert L. Block Collection of more than 14,000 drawings, donated to the Library by the Herb Block Foundation in 2002. Herblock worked as an editorial cartoonist at the Chicago Daily News, for the Newspaper Enterprise Association, and the Washington Post. During his seventy-two-year career, Herblock won four Pulitzer Prizes for his cartoons. The exhibition also draws heavily on the Art Wood Collection of Cartoon and Caricature which comprises more than 17,000 original editorial cartoon drawings by hundreds of men and women, donated to the Library in 2001. The collection, spanning three centuries, is distinctive and unparalleled in the depth of its holdings. Pointing Their Pens allows visitors an opportunity to explore and appreciate the art and expressive power of the editorial cartoon.
44. LOCPT_151005_009.JPG: World War II: Before the United States entered World War II in December 1941, cartoonists, like the rest of the United States, were divided over the issue of American intervention. Although public opinion initially leaned toward an isolationist position in response to the European war, by late 1941, 70 percent of the American people thought that defeating Germany was more important than staying out of the war. After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor most Americans ceased to be ambivalent and threw themselves into the war effort. Herblock worked for the conservative Newspaper Enterprise Association from 1933 to 1943 and drew the ire of his editor for drawing cartoons increasingly in favor of intervention in Europe. However, during the same period, many of his fellow cartoonists discounted Hitler or chose to focus on national defense.
45. LOCPT_151005_013.JPG: JAMES BERRYMAN, Washington Star While Senator Hiram Johnson, Republican from California, and Senator Tom Connally, Democrat from Texas, dress Congress as an angel defending the peace, an irritated Uncle Sam thinks they would be better off working on domestic legislation. This may have been published around the same time as the passage of the Neutrality Act of 1939, which Johnson opposed and Connally supported. James Berryman followed in his father's footsteps and became a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist at the Washington Star.
46. LOCPT_151005_030.JPG: HUGH HUTTON, Philadelphia Inquirer In 1939, feeling that America had been treated like a pariah for its role in financing World War I, Hugh Hutton portrayed Uncle Sam resisting involvement in World War II. Hutton's use of the character Shylock from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice reflected the opinion, current in both Europe and the United States, that Americans had greatly profited from the First World War. Hutton drew for the Philadelphia Inquirer from 1934 until he retired in 1969.
47. LOCPT_151005_041.JPG: HERBLOCK, Newspaper Enterprise Association Supporting President Roosevelt's call for increased war production, Herblock depicted an American worker next to a British sailor -- working together to defeat Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. The president pushed Americans to work harder and produce more goods for the war effort. In April 1941, the Axis powers did not fear the Allies. Germany forced Yugoslavia and Greece into surrendering, blitzed several British cities, and began to push toward the Soviet Union, which it attacked in June 1941.
48. LOCPT_151005_053.JPG: JERRY COSTELLO, Albany Knickerbocker News As Europe plunged into war, isolationists decried President Roosevelt's attempt to alter neutrality legislation. In 1939, Roosevelt, wanting to better arm the Allies against German aggression, asked Congress to eliminate the arms embargo in the "cash-and-carry" provision of the Neutrality Act of 1937. Jerry Costello showed Uncle Sam pulling Roosevelt back from the brink of war and using the law as his anchor. Costello spent forty years of his forty-seven-year career as a cartoonist at the Albany Knickerbocker News, from 1922 to 1962.
49. LOCPT_151005_062.JPG: HERBLOCK, Newspaper Enterprise Association Uncle Sam authoritatively turns "plans" for war production into "planes" in this patriotic Herblock cartoon that encouraged Americans to increase military supplies for Europe. During the summer of 1941, manufacturing demands for both British and American markets outstripped supplies. Employees facing longer hours and harder work went on strike for higher wages. Herblock encouraged their production efforts in support of the war, suggesting to his readers that it was their patriotic duty.
50. LOCPT_151005_072.JPG: Red Scare: In the 1950s the nation feared the increase in communist-run countries after World War II. Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy's four-year public smear campaign began in 1950 and paralleled the intimidation tactics already underway by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), which had been founded in 1938 to root out subversive activities related to communism. McCarthy's initial popularity with the American public was fed by the Cold War-fueled fear of communist influence, which led some cartoonists to agree with him. However, by January 1954, a Gallup poll found that only 50 percent of the American public supported McCarthy. The televised McCarthy-Army hearings later that year further eroded his public support. In June 1954, McCarthy was censured and by December condemned by the Senate.
51. LOCPT_151005_074.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post This Herblock cartoon depicts Joseph McCarthy as his own worst enemy. Soon after the senator claimed that he had a list of known communists working in the State Department, Herblock went on the attack, stating later, "there was real pleasure in having an outlet for my anger instead of imploding with it." The Catholic Archdioceses of Baltimore and Washington confronted McCarthy as did Senate Democrats, but they failed to stop his investigation of the State Department and the later investigations he led. The televised Army hearings in 1954 brought about McCarthy's downfall.
52. LOCPT_151005_089.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post Members of the Senate were divided in their reaction to Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy's hearings to root out communism. Scott Lucas, a Democrat from Illinois, supported State Department employees working in fear of false allegation and challenged McCarthy, calling him a "liar." Owen Lattimore, a State Department employee, who had been falsely accused of being a "top Soviet espionage agent," argued that McCarthy was guilty of "Russian-type smears." In 1950, Herblock portrayed McCarthy as a lone actor, but, by 1954 the senator's investigative committee had ended many careers.
53. LOCPT_151005_100.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post Members of the Senate were divided in their reaction to Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy's hearings to root out communism. Scott Lucas, a Democrat from Illinois, supported State Department employees working in fear of false allegation and challenged McCarthy, calling him a "liar." Owen Lattimore, a State Department employee, who had been falsely accused of being a "top Soviet espionage agent," argued that McCarthy was guilty of "Russian-type smears." In 1950, Herblock portrayed McCarthy as a lone actor, but, by 1954 the senator's investigative committee had ended many careers.
54. LOCPT_151005_110.JPG: LEO ROCHE, Buffalo Courier-Express As Joseph McCarthy continued to conduct hearings intent on exposing communists, Republicans began to distance themselves. The issue came to a head when President Eisenhower nominated Charles E. Bolen to serve as ambassador to the Soviet Union. Bolen, who was expressly in favor of accommodating rather than containing the Soviet Union, found Republican support during McCarthy's investigation. Leo Roche, who cartooned for the Buffalo Courier-Express for at least twenty years, shows the Democrats relishing the Republican Party dilemma.
55. LOCPT_151005_122.JPG: EDMUND VALTMAN, Hartford Times In 1954, as the Army-McCarthy hearings exposed the Wisconsin senator's bullying tactics on national television, Joseph McCarthy's reputation plummeted. Estonian �migr�, Edmund Valtman, who had lived through German fascism and Soviet communism, believed the Republican Party needed to purge the red scare obsession from its agenda. Already an established cartoonist, Valtman emigrated to the United States in 1949 and worked for the Hartford Times between 1951 and his retirement in 1975.
56. LOCPT_151005_135.JPG: Cold War: In the decades after World War II, mutual distrust between the United States and the Soviet Union led to international tension and the chilling threat of nuclear warfare in an era commonly called the "Cold War." As early as 1946, six out of every ten Americans believed that the Soviet Union was more interested in world dominance than world peace. Despite a series of ongoing disarmament talks, cartoonists -- like other Americans -- did not find solace in either Joseph Stalin's or Nikita Khrushchev's terms for peace in the 1950s and 1960s. Few American editorial cartoonists favored the Soviet government during the Cold War, but they had divergent responses to the fear of nuclear warfare.
57. LOCPT_151005_138.JPG: WILLARD COMBES, Cleveland Press After the detonation of the nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, at the end of World War II, world leaders and scientists alike discussed their further military use. Although the United States was the only world power to have used nuclear weapons in 1945, it did not take long for the Soviet Union, England, France, and China to manufacture them. Willard Combes, who drew for the Cleveland Press for twenty-eight years, warned of the dangers but, unlike other cartoonists, chose to use a classic cartoonish bomb.
58. LOCPT_151005_148.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post As the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission discussed the prevention of nuclear weapon manufacturing around the world and further uses of such bombs in war, Washington Post cartoonist Herblock drew his menacing character Mr. Atom to emphasize the fragility of life. Herblock wrote, "He wasn't planned as a continuing character, but after his first appearance he kept muscling into the pictures as a warning that he wasn't going to be permanently on our side alone and that if he weren't controlled he would cut loose on the whole world."
59. LOCPT_151005_155.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post Nuclear weapons and the fear of annihilation framed Cold War diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and the United States. As Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev prepared to test a 50-megaton bomb, Americans pressured the United Nations to propose banning the detonation, fearing the impact such an explosion would have on the world. Herblock placed the threat in the hands of the Soviet premier, as the hairy Mr. Atom smiles approvingly over the Khrushchev's shoulder.
60. LOCPT_151005_169.JPG: GIB CROCKETT, Washington Star Quoting Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev, who threatened, "The 50-and 100-megaton bombs will always hang over their heads like the sword of Damocles," cartoonist Gib Crockett of the Washington Star, imagined the very real peril under which citizens lived during the Cold War. The Soviets detonated "Big Ivan," also called the "Tsar Bomba," on October 30, 1961. While it had no practical use as a military weapon, it worked well as a diplomatic one.
61. LOCPT_151005_186.JPG: EDMUND VALTMAN, Hartford Times Days before the United States resumed atmospheric nuclear testing under Operation Dominic in 1962, Hartford Times cartoonist Edmund Valtman expressed the opinion that Soviet intransigence had pushed the United States to its limit. The test ban negotiations fell apart when the Soviets rejected an American inspection clause, arguing it violated their borders. Valtman, who had lived under Soviet rule in his native Estonia, drew cartoons for the Hartford Times between 1951 and 1975. In this cartoon, he clearly blamed the Soviets for escalating nuclear weapons testing.
62. LOCPT_151005_200.JPG: Vietnam: President Lyndon Baines Johnson believed in the "domino theory," the idea that when one country becomes communist then surrounding countries will also fall under communist influence. After he was elected president of the United States, Johnson sent the first American combat troops to Vietnam in February 1965. Although his domestic policies received high approval ratings from the American public, his popularity declined because of his administration's hawkish approach to the Vietnam Crisis. Some cartoonists disparaged President Johnson's decision to escalate the war, while others portrayed him as an ineffectual international leader. In 1968, in failing health and dealing with a Democratic Party divided over Vietnam, Johnson refused to run for reelection.
63. LOCPT_151005_203.JPG: EUGENE PAYNE, Charlotte Observer Imagining Vietnam as a trap for President Johnson, Eugene Payne posed Johnson in formal dress, imploring Pacific allies for assistance. On October 24, 1966, the Manila Peace Conference opened, and Johnson pledged peace, conditional upon the withdrawal of North Vietnamese forces from South Vietnam. Payne served as one of the editorial cartoonists of the Charlotte Observer in his native city for the better part of the years between 1958 and 2009.
64. LOCPT_151005_213.JPG: CY HUNGERFORD, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette During the Johnson Administration (1963–1969), there were several opportunities for peace in Vietnam. The title of Cy Hungerford's cartoon is ironic, as President Johnson sinks into quicksand, grinning at the potential for peace. Hungerford was practically a Pittsburgh institution, working there for sixty-five years, including fifty years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
65. LOCPT_151005_219.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post Attempting to halt the flow of supplies from China into Vietnam, the United States bombed in the far north near the border between the two countries. Because President Johnson had lifted restrictions on pilots flying near the Chinese border, Herblock used the precipice, plunging into an unseen chasm, as a metaphor -- suggesting that Johnson unwittingly headed into a direction that would engulf the United States in a bigger war.
66. LOCPT_151005_230.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post While China was not perceived as a direct military threat to the United States in 1967, America's involvement in Asia increased opportunities for confrontation. As the Vietnam War escalated, containing China became a justification for increasing troops and supplies to South Vietnam. Herblock suggested that the policies of President Johnson and Secretary of State Dean Rusk inadvertently caused an even bigger conflict.
67. LOCPT_151005_244.JPG: JOSEPH PARRISH, Chicago Tribune Secretary of State Dean Rusk, President Johnson, and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara reel back from a bomb that has landed in the mid-term elections of 1966. As the Vietnam War became increasingly unpopular, Democrats facing elections called for cease-fires or threatened to splinter the party over American involvement in the war. While the Republican Party made gains, Democrats continued to control the House and the Senate after the November election. Joseph Parrish drew editorial cartoons for the Chicago Tribune for forty-six years of his fifty-year career.
68. LOCPT_151005_254.JPG: Nixon: Within days of the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 1972, President Richard Nixon disavowed participation in the scandal. That November, he won a landslide victory over Democratic candidate George McGovern, garnering 60 percent of the popular vote. Between the break-in and his resignation on August 8, 1974, Nixon's approval ratings steadily declined and reached a low of 24 percent by the time he left office. During this period Washington Post readers opened their newspapers to 140 Herblock drawings about Watergate. As early as June 20, 1972 Herblock castigated President Nixon for his role in the Watergate break-in, even as other cartoonists continued to support his presidential campaign.
69. LOCPT_151005_257.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post Four days after the break-in at the Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., Herblock blamed President Nixon; former Attorney General John Mitchell, who then headed the Nixon reelection committee; and Attorney General Richard Kleindienst for the burglary and numerous other scandals. Address books found on the suspects led Democratic National Committee Chairman Lawrence O'Brien to point a finger at the White House, and he filed a lawsuit against the Committee to Reelect the President.
70. LOCPT_151005_266.JPG: GIB CROCKETT, Washington Star Nixon-supporter Gib Crockett of the Washington Star offered a backyard scene to send a message to his readers to relax and take it easy. Watergate is half-forgotten in the unmowed yard. Despite the Senate investigation into the Watergate scandal that had the country glued to the television, his John Q. Public is unmoved and unwavering in support of President Nixon.
71. LOCPT_151005_283.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post In the final days leading up to the presidential election on November 7, 1972, evidence increasingly revealed President Nixon's involvement in a number of scandals, including the break-in at the Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. The Republican Party stood by their candidate and castigated the Democrats for their mud-slinging. Herblock's Nixon appears almost saintly as hands lift him above his scandals.
72. LOCPT_151005_292.JPG: ED HOLLAND, Chicago Tribune Even as Congress moved to impeach President Nixon for his involvement in the 1972 Democratic Party headquarters break-in at the Watergate Hotel, he still attempted to thwart prosecution. Some of his biggest supporters began to call for his resignation. Ed Holland, who drew cartoons for the Chicago Tribune for twenty-three years, quoted the Scottish poet Sir Walter Scott and depicted Nixon trapped by a web of his own deception.
73. LOCPT_151005_303.JPG: KARL HUBENTHAL, Los Angeles Herald-Examiner Like many Nixon supporters, Karl Hubenthal expressed dismay and shock that Nixon's credibility has been erased with the release of the Watergate tapes. On April 29, 1974, Nixon began to release his secret White House recordings, but the release of the transcripts of a conversation he held with White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman six days after the break-in forced even his most ardent supporters to admit there was a cover-up. Hubenthal, who drew for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner for twenty-seven years, published this cartoon the day before Nixon resigned from the presidency.
74. LOCPT_151005_310.JPG: Middle East: The Cold War conflict affected the Middle East as both the United States and the Soviet Union tried to expand their influence in the region beginning in the mid-1950s. It was a period when the wider American public was becoming more aware of the region, and the U.S. was emerging as both an economic and military power. Ongoing tension between the American and Soviet superpowers fueled numerous military conflicts in the region over the complex issue of Egyptian-Israeli relations. The regional turmoil commanded the attention of editorial cartoonists who tried to make sense, place blame, or convey their opinions of the discord.
75. LOCPT_151005_313.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post Israel stunned the world with a swift victory during the Six-Day War, June 5–10, 1967. Fearing attacks from its immediate neighbors -- Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon -- Israel started the war and captured the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. As the Middle East prepared for the cease-fire and United Nations assistance in negotiating the terms of peace, Herblock expressed his hope that a lasting solution could be built.
76. LOCPT_151005_325.JPG: BILL GRAHAM, Arkansas Gazette With its surprise war initiative, Israel easily defeated a concerted Arab military attempt to press along its borders. The Six-Day War led to capture of territory from Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Bill Graham showed the Egyptians in retreat, prepared to blame both the United States and Great Britain for their failure to prevent the conflict. Graham spent thirty-seven years working as the editorial cartoonist for the Arkansas Gazette.
77. LOCPT_151005_335.JPG: ROBERT DUNN, Buffalo Courier-Express The situation in the Middle East seemed so volatile to cartoonist Robert Dunn that he drew this cartoon representing the cease-fire perched precariously over a precipice. He blamed neither one side nor the other, but focused on the international aspects of the conflict by featuring the globe on the bomb. Dunn worked for the Buffalo Courier-Express from 1952 to 1982 and may have drawn this cartoon after the Six-Day War or another conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors that occurred during his career.
78. LOCPT_151005_345.JPG: HERBLOCK, Washington Post As the United States enlisted the help of the United Nations to eliminate some of the causes of unrest in the Middle East that resulted in the Six-Day War of 1967, Herblock blamed some of the Security Council member states for their lack of a clear message to both Israel and its Arab neighbors. Ultimately, United Nations Resolution 242 became the cornerstone of the peace process and ultimately led to the 1978 Camp David Accords.
79. LOCPT_151005_362.JPG: ANNE MERGEN, Miami Daily News In this timeless cartoon, cartoonist Anne Mergen showed peace taking refuge in an unlikely place -- behind a powder keg -- during one of the Israeli-Egyptian conflicts of the 1950s. She anticipated that the war would lead to a bigger conflagration. Few women have found employment as editorial cartoonists in mainstream American newspapers. Mergen, who worked for the Miami Daily News between 1933 and 1956, was one of the pioneers in the field.
AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Bigger photos? To save server space, the full-sized versions of these images have either not been loaded to the server or have been removed from the server. (Only some pages are loaded with full-sized images and those usually get removed after three months.) I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com and I can email them to you, or, depending on the number of images, just repost the page again will the full-sized images.
Connection Not Secure messages? Those warnings you get from your browser about this site not having secure connections worry some people. This means this site does not have SSL installed (the link is http:, not https:). That's bad if you're entering credit card numbers, passwords, or other personal information. But this site doesn't collect any personal information so SSL is not necessary. Life's good!
Photo Contact: [Email Bruce Guthrie].