Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
We Have Our Own 'Iron Curtain', 1952 US cartoon: A figure labelled D.C., dressed in colonial costume with tricorn hat

We Have Our Own 'Iron Curtain'

A figure labelled D.C., dressed in colonial costume with tricorn hat and ragged waistcoat, stands dejected beside a curtained voting booth marked The Polls, from which a hand labelled Rest of America is raised. The cartoon argues that District of Columbia residents are excluded from voting; the tell is transfer, using Revolutionary-era dress to lend that argument historical weight.

Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon

Transfer
Date
November 4, 1952
Period
Cold War
Made by
Washington Evening Star (cartoonist Jim Berryman)
Region
North America
Country
United States
Medium
Cartoon
Issuer type
Media
Regime
Truman Administration
Leader
Harry S. Truman
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Persuade or win support
Theme
Elections and party politics
Event
1952 US Election
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, 5743169 (NAID 5743169).

Text on the object

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

THE POLLS
REST OF AMERICA
D.C.
JIM BERRYMAN

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