Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
Blight on Labor Day!, 1957 US cartoon: A seated statue on a pedestal inscribed 'Samuel Gompers, Father of Organized Labor'

Blight on Labor Day!

A seated statue on a pedestal inscribed 'Samuel Gompers, Father of Organized Labor' is splattered at its base by a large black stain across the steps, labelled 'Teamsters Union Scandal'. The cartoon argues that the scandal tarnishes the labour movement's founding figure on Labor Day; the technique is transfer, using the monument's authority and the holiday to carry a judgment onto the present.

Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon

Transfer
Date
September 2, 1957
Period
Cold War
Made by
Washington Evening Star (cartoonist Jim Berryman)
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Cartoon
Issuer type
Media
Regime
Eisenhower Administration
Leader
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Warn or inform
Theme
Labor
Source
Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source
U.S. National Archives, Records of the U.S. Senate, Jim Berryman Political Cartoons (NAID 5730852), 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, NAID 5743248 (NAID 5743248).

Text on the object

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

SAMUEL GOMPERS
FATHER
OF
ORGANIZED LABOR
TEAMSTERS UNION SCANDAL
JIM BERRYMAN WASHINGTON STAR

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