Benjamin Banneker, Astronomer-City Planner
A full-page biographical panel shows a large pencil portrait of Benjamin Banneker with three small scenes: building a clock, writing at a desk, and surveying. Captions credit him with the first clock made in America, a plan-for-peace almanac of 1793, and a place on the commission that laid out Washington, D.C. The tell is testimonial by exemplar: a named historical figure's achievements are offered as a model for the reader, with the claims given without sources on the sheet.
Propaganda techniques used in this cartoon
- Date
- 1943
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Office of War Information (cartoon artwork; artist Charles Alston)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Cartoon
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- Race and ethnicity, Science and technology, Home front
- 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, RG 208, Artworks and Mockups for Cartoons Promoting the War Effort, retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
Office of War Information. National Archives and Records Administration, RG 208, 208-COM-82 (NAID 535626).
Text on the object
BENJAMIN BANNEKER ASTRONOMER-CITY PLANNER AT 22, USING A BORROWED WATCH AS A MODEL, A POCKET KNIFE AS HIS ONLY TOOL, HE CONSTRUCTED THE FIRST CLOCK MADE IN AMERICA.—IT KEPT ACCURATE TIME FOR OVER 20 YEARS! ON THE ADVICE OF THOMAS JEFFERSON, HE WAS PLACED ON THE COMMISSION WHICH SURVEYED AND LAID OUT THE CITY OF WASHINGTON, D.C.! PLANNING FOR PEACE IN TIME OF WAR WAS ADVOCATED BY BANNEKER IN HIS FAMOUS ALMANAC IN 1793! Alston OWI 36 1/2 Picas
