The Operation of Democracy (Minshushugi no un'yo), Japanese-language U.S. poster
A Japanese-language poster pairs a photograph of Congress in session and a portrait of President Roosevelt with a short text under the red title 'The Operation of Democracy': after the attack the nation became one body to protect precious freedom, differences of opinion vanished, and the whole populace rose for total war. Virtue words and an assertion of unanimity stand in for any account of how democracy operated.
- Date
- 1944
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- U.S. federal government (Government Printing Office publication; the issuing agency is not printed on the sheet, and a library pencil note appears to read 'War information')
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Mixed
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- War and the military, Home front
- Event
- World War II
- Techniques
- Glittering generalitiesBandwagon
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Northwestern University Libraries, World War II Poster Collection (object no. VII.9), retrieved October 2, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government publication; Northwestern: No Copyright - United States)
Northwestern University Libraries, World War II Poster Collection (Government & Geographic Information Collection); the Libraries ask that users cite the item URL and Northwestern University Libraries.
Text on the object
民主々義の運用 攻撃を受けるや、米國は大切な自由を守護する為に全國一體となつた。大統領ローズベルトは議會にのぞみ、宣戰布告を要望された。意見の相違は消滅し、國内相剋は跡をたつた。全民衆は総力戰へと蹴起した。 ローズベルト大統領
The Operation of Democracy. When attacked, America became one body for the sake of protecting precious freedom. President Roosevelt addressed Congress and requested a declaration of war. Differences of opinion disappeared and internal discord was cut off. The whole populace rose up for total war. [Portrait caption:] President Roosevelt. (Machine translation by Claude, not fluent-reader verified.)
Read right to left in vertical columns; the red title reads right to left across two lines. The portrait caption is horizontal, right to left. Library stamp and pencil note at the bottom edge ('U.S. President. Emergency management office. War information') are annotations, not printed text.
