Cartoonist Clifford Berryman on Thanksgiving
Political cartoonist Clifford Berryman made use of Thanksgiving throughout his career to highlight timely political issues near the holiday. Below are two examples of his Thanksgiving-themed cartoons:
Delegates of the allied powers met in Washington after World War I to conduct peace negotiations. In this 1921 cartoon on the day before Thanksgiving, Berryman compares the enthusiasm of a peace dove and a turkey to report on the progress of the negotiations. In 1922, the U.S., Great Britain, France, Japan, and Italy signed the “Five-Power Treaty” to limit the construction and size of naval vessels to prevent future arms races. (ARC Identifier 6011700)
At the outset of World War II, the Soviet Union, England, and France vied for regional control of Turkey – the Soviet Union to assure free access for its Black Sea Fleet and England and France to maintain control over the strategic Dardanelles waterway. In this 1939 cartoon, Berryman uses a Thanksgiving turkey wearing a fez as a pun to portray the fight over Turkey. Stalin is pulling on one leg while Chamaberlain and Daladier pull on another. (ARC Identifier 6012206)
These and other cartoons by Clifford Berryman can be found in Record Group 46 in the series “Berryman Political Cartoon Collection, 1896-1949″ (ARC Identifier 306080) as part of the Center for Legislative Archives.
Happy Thanksgiving!
