Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
A war message: Stop pleasure travel! Railroads are war roads, 1944 US poster: Narrow typographic card

A war message: Stop pleasure travel! Railroads are war roads

Narrow typographic card: 'A WAR MESSAGE' in a red frame, 'STOP PLEASURE TRAVEL!' in blue, and 'RAIL ROADS ARE WAR ROADS' in white on a red block. There is no picture. The technique is faint: a slogan recasts rail travel as a war use, a broad virtue-word framing rather than an argument.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Glittering generalities
Date
1944
Period
Second World War
Made by
U.S. government (Government Printing Office imprint)
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Roosevelt Administration
Leader
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Mobilize or secure compliance
Themes
Home front, Economy and finance
Event
World War II
Regime
Roosevelt administration
Leader
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Source
Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
Rights
Public domain (U.S. government work)
U.S. Government Printing Office. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1818 (NAID 515498).

Text on the object

Original (English) · read from the image, not independently checked

A WAR
MESSAGE
STOP
PLEASURE
TRAVEL!
RAIL
ROADS
ARE
WAR
ROADS
[imprint:] U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1944-O-595955

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