Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
An Unfailing Torch in time of Danger, 1961 US cartoon: The Statue of Liberty raises a torch whose rays carry the words

An Unfailing Torch in time of Danger

The Statue of Liberty raises a torch whose rays carry the words National Unity. The cartoon argues for national unity in a time of danger; the techniques are glittering generalities, an abstract virtue, and transfer, the national symbol lending its authority to the appeal.

Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon

Glittering generalitiesTransfer
Date
April 23, 1961
Period
Cold War
Made by
Washington Evening Star (cartoonist Jim Berryman)
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Cartoon
Issuer type
Media
Regime
Kennedy Administration
Leader
John F. Kennedy
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Persuade or win support
Themes
War and the military, Elections and party politics
Source
Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source
U.S. National Archives (NARA), Records of the U.S. Senate, Jim Berryman Political Cartoons, retrieved October 3, 2026
Rights
Public domain (U.S. government work)
Jim Berryman, Washington Evening Star. National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the U.S. Senate, 5743291 (NAID 5743291).

Text on the object

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

NATIONAL UNITY
Jim Berryman Washington Star

More propaganda examples that use the same techniques

Gypsum alabaster slab inscribed in cuneiform, from Nimrud (Kalhu), reign of Ashurnasirpal IINeo Assyrian EmpireGypsum alabaster slab inscribed in cuneiform, from Nimrud (Kalhu), reign of Ashurnasirpal II0000 · Transfer, Glittering generalitiesColour lithograph of the Latin text of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti on the wall of the temple of Roma and Augustus at Ancyra, with the heading in large letters (Perrot, Guillaume and Delbet, 1872)Roman EmpireColour lithograph of the Latin text of the Res Gestae Divi Augusti on the wall of the temple of Roma and Augustus at Ancyra, with the heading in large letters (Perrot, Guillaume and Delbet, 1872)0014 · Card stacking, Glittering generalitiesBronze sestertius of Trajan, reverse S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, S C, the emperor on horseback riding down an enemyRoman EmpireBronze sestertius of Trajan, reverse S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, S C, the emperor on horseback riding down an enemy0103 · Testimonial, Glittering generalitiesGold solidus of Constantine I, reverse RESTITVTORI LIBERTATISRoman EmpireGold solidus of Constantine I, reverse RESTITVTORI LIBERTATIS0313 · Glittering generalitiesGold solidus of Justinian I, reverse VICTORIA AVGGG with Victory holding a Christogram staffByzantine EmpireGold solidus of Justinian I, reverse VICTORIA AVGGG with Victory holding a Christogram staff0538 · Transfer, Glittering generalitiesThe Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I (Royal Museums Greenwich version), oil on panelEnglandThe Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I (Royal Museums Greenwich version), oil on panel1588 · Transfer, Glittering generalitiesMedal of Elizabeth I: portrait in a ruff, reverse an ark on stormy waves with SAEVAS TRANQVILLA PER VNDAS (18th-century aftercast of a 1588 model)EnglandMedal of Elizabeth I: portrait in a ruff, reverse an ark on stormy waves with SAEVAS TRANQVILLA PER VNDAS (18th-century aftercast of a 1588 model)1588 · Transfer, Glittering generalitiesFrontispiece to Eikon Basilike, The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Majestie in his Solitudes and Sufferings (Hollar, 1649)Dutch RepublicFrontispiece to Eikon Basilike, The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Majestie in his Solitudes and Sufferings (Hollar, 1649)1649 · Transfer, Glittering generalities