The Thinker...and Some of his Thoughts...
An Uncle Sam figure sits in the pose of Rodin's 'The Thinker', and a thought cloud asks whether strikes are costing soldiers' lives and whether the Commander-in-Chief should tell the people, adding that leaders have minimized strikes and that there is more talk of 'Our Rights' than of 'Our Duties'. The cartoon argues that wartime strikes deserve franker presidential discussion; the technique tell is transfer, borrowing soldiers' lives and a famous sculpture's gravity for the argument.
Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon
- Date
- January 3, 1944
- Period
- Second World War
- 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
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- Labor, War and the military, Home front
- 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 (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, 5743131 (NAID 5743131).
Text on the object
THE THINKER......... .....AND SOME OF HIS THOUGHTS..... If strikes are costing soldiers' lives, shouldn't the Commander-in-Chief tell the people?...... ...Our government leaders have minimized the effect of strikes.... ...is it any wonder the strikers minimize it?.... ...we hear a lot about Our Rights ... why isn't there more emphasis on Our Duties? [signature: Jim Berryman] (WITH APOLOGIES TO RODIN)
