Life-line of the nation
A steam locomotive with '1942' on its smokebox rushes toward the viewer, hauling boxcars and flatcars of tanks, under the red headline 'Life-line of the nation' and the sponsor line 'American Railroads'. The tell is the virtue-phrase 'life-line' joined to a powerful machine and the war-year date.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1942
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- American Railroads (artist Ralph Treidler)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Corporation
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- Home front, Economy and finance, War and the military
- 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 and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
American Railroads. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1288 (NAID 514894).
Text on the object
LIFE-LINE OF THE NATION 1942 AMERICAN RAILROADS [signature:] Ralph Treidler
