Democracy's Forge
A charcoal drawing shows two industrial workers, one apparently Black and one apparently white, gripping a glowing piece of hot metal with tongs at a forge or press. The printed title casts war production as 'Democracy's Forge'; the tell is a glittering-generality title attached to a scene of shared labour, with no figure, claim or call to action in the image itself (a weak fit).
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
- Mobilize or secure compliance
- Themes
- War and the military, Economy and finance, Race and ethnicity
- 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-40 (NAID 535610).
Text on the object
"Democracy's Forge" 104
