YOU Buy a Liberty Bond, Lest I Perish!
The Statue of Liberty, drawn with a startled face, points straight out of the sheet at the viewer beneath a huge red 'YOU'. The slogan 'Lest I Perish!' makes the purchase of a bond the condition of Liberty's survival. The tell is direct address plus a national symbol speaking in the first person, which turns the loan into a personal duty.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1917
- Period
- First World War
- Made by
- U.S. Treasury Department (Liberty Loan campaign)
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Wilson Administration
- Leader
- Woodrow Wilson
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Fundraise
- Themes
- War and the military, Economy and finance
- Event
- World War I
- Regime
- Wilson administration
- Leader
- Woodrow Wilson
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives (NARA), RG 4 (U.S. Food Administration), World War I Posters (NAID 512439), retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- NARA Unrestricted; hosted by owner decision
U.S. Treasury Department (Liberty Loan campaign). National Archives and Records Administration, 4-P-233.
Text on the object
YOU Buy a Liberty BOND GET BEHIND THE GOVERNMENT LIBERTY LOAN OF 1917 Lest I Perish!
The roundel text runs around a small Statue of Liberty vignette.
