"Democracy in action no. III" (undated, c. 1942-1945, OWI)
Undated: NARA gives no date; c. 1942-1945 from the OWI series. Pencil portraits of George Washington Carver, Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass stand above a drawn fleet of ships, with Washington shaking Douglass's hand. A caption cites the naming of Liberty Ships for outstanding Negro Americans. The tell is transfer: the standing of historical figures is attached to the war-production fleet.
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
- War and the military, Race and ethnicity, 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 (NARA), 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-89 (NAID 535631).
Text on the object
CARVER WASHINGTON DOUGLASS Third in the series of Liberty Ships named for outstanding Negro Americans will be the "S.S. FREDERICK DOUGLASS" -- NEWS ITEM Alston for OWI
