American Aid Program poster No. 1, handshake (Lao-English poster distributed in Vientiane)
A red, white and blue Lao-English project-marker poster. A handshake joins the United States flag and a Lao flag with the three-headed elephant under a band of stars, above Lao lines and an English statement that the project is part of the American economic aid program to Laos and an expression of friendship between the two peoples. The tell is transfer: flags and a handshake attach goodwill to the aid.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- April 18, 1958
- Period
- Cold War
- Made by
- U.S. Information Agency (predecessor: State Department International Information and Educational Exchange Program), Propaganda Posters Distributed in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East series
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Eisenhower Administration
- Leader
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Audience
- Foreign public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Theme
- Economy and finance
- Event
- Cold War
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives (NARA), RG 306, Posters Distributed in Asia, Latin America, Middle East, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work; NARA RG 306)
U.S. Information Agency / Department of State, April 18, 1958. National Archives, Record Group 306 (NAID 6948896, 306-PPB-73).
Text on the object
[Lao-script heading in red, two name lines and a Lao paragraph; not transcribed] THIS PROJECT IS PART OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMIC AID PROGRAM TO LAOS AND AN EXPRESSION OF THE FRIENDSHIP THAT EXISTS BETWEEN THE PEOPLE OF LAOS AND THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES.
English lines as printed. [Lao lines not translated; the paragraph is presumably the Lao counterpart of the English statement.]
Lao text not transcribed; English verbatim.
