Buy Liberty Bonds: That Government of the People, by the People, for the People Shall Not Perish from the Earth
A bronze-toned relief portrait of Abraham Lincoln in profile sits under the heading 'Buy Liberty Bonds' and above a line from the Gettysburg Address with his facsimile signature. The sheet makes no argument of its own: a purchase request is joined to Lincoln's words about the survival of popular government. The tell is the borrowed authority, a long-dead president's sentence and signature attached to a bond sale.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1917
- Period
- First World War
- Made by
- U.S. Treasury Department (Liberty Loan campaign; issuer not printed)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Wilson Administration
- Leader
- Woodrow Wilson
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Fundraise
- Themes
- War and the military, Economy and finance
- Event
- World War I
- Regime
- Wilson administration
- Leader
- Woodrow Wilson
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives (NARA), RG 4 (U.S. Food Administration), World War I Posters (NAID 512439), retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- NARA Unrestricted; hosted by owner decision
U.S. Treasury Department (Liberty Loan campaign). National Archives and Records Administration, 4-P-185.
Text on the object
BUY LIBERTY BONDS "THAT GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THE EARTH" A. Lincoln.
'A. Lincoln.' is a facsimile signature.
