Greeting the New Year
A wide-eyed baby labelled with a '1953' sash, carrying an hourglass, looks at a guttering candle, a scythe marked ''52' and a ribbon reading 'All-time highway death toll', and says 'The old man sure was busy with that thing!'. The cartoon argues that 1952 set a record for road deaths; the technique is a fear-appeal built on the Father Time and scythe imagery.
Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon
- Date
- January 1, 1953
- 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
- Warn or inform
- Theme
- Health
- 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, 5743172 (NAID 5743172).
Text on the object
THE OLD MAN SURE WAS BUSY WITH THAT THING ! '52 1953 ALL-TIME HIGHWAY DEATH TOLL Jim Berryman
