The Man on the Flying Trapeze
A man in a circus acrobat's costume labelled 'FRANCE' falls through the air, his top hat tumbling, past several trapeze bars each labelled 'MINISTRY'; one bar swings empty and another lies in the foreground below him. The cartoon argues that French governments are succeeding one another so fast that the country has no secure hold; the technique tell is a weak fear-appeal (a falling figure and a missed grip), and the fit is weak.
Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon
- Date
- June 6, 1935
- Period
- Interwar
- Made by
- Washington Evening Star (cartoonist Jim Berryman)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Cartoon
- Issuer type
- Media
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Warn or inform
- Theme
- Elections and party politics
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- 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 (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, 5743099 (NAID 5743099).
Text on the object
MINISTRY MINISTRY MINISTRY FRANCE [signature: J.H. Berryman]
