Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
Steps in British Political Development, 1941 UK poster: An illustrated timeline runs from 1066 to 1918, each step

Steps in British Political Development

An illustrated timeline runs from 1066 to 1918, each step (Magna Carta, first Parliament, Bill of Rights, Reform Bill, votes for women) with a picture and a short paragraph. The card-stacking tell is that only expansions of rights and parliamentary power are listed; 'a great charter of liberty' and 'every adult citizen in Britain helps to govern the country' are the glittering-generalities wording.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Card stackingGlittering generalities
Date
1941
Period
Second World War
Made by
British Information Services, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N.Y. (an agency of the British Government); artist C. Loram
Region
Western and Central Europe
Country
United Kingdom
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Churchill Government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Audience
Foreign public
Purpose
Persuade or win support
Themes
Elections and party politics, Gender and suffrage
Event
World War II
Regime
Churchill wartime government
Leader
Winston Churchill
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 Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
Rights
Held by NARA, Unrestricted; hosted by owner decision
British Information Services, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N.Y. (an agency of the British Government); artist C. Loram. National Archives and Records Administration, 44-PF-402.

Text on the object

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

STEPS IN BRITISH
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT

1066-1100 UNIFICATION of ENGLAND
William the Conqueror was the last conqueror of England. Romans, Anglo-Saxons, and Danes had seized the country before. [...]

(Full body text of the thirteen steps, 1154-1189 Common Law to 1918 Votes for Women, is printed on the poster; the closing paragraph reads:)
1918 VOTES FOR WOMEN
Women over thirty were given the vote in 1918. Ten years later all women over twenty-one were given the right to vote. Every citizen was now able to vote, so now every adult citizen in Britain helps to govern the country.

[imprint:] BRITISH INFORMATION SERVICES, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N.Y. An Agency of the British Government. C. LORAM '41

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