What was space race propaganda?
Space race propaganda is the posters, photo sheets and cartoons that used rocket launches, satellites and astronauts to claim scientific and political standing during the Cold War. It began with Sputnik 1 on 4 October 1957. This collection holds US material only; no Soviet items are hosted yet.
Cartoons after Sputnik, 1957 to 1963
Jim Berryman of the Washington Evening Star drew the American reaction. "Anybody Working" (6 October 1957) shows a telescope turned on streaking objects in the sky. "It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog!" (5 November 1957) shows Uncle Sam rattled by signals; the archive notes that a link to Sputnik 2 and its dog Laika is an inference from the date. It is tagged Fear appeal. A July 1958 cartoon ridicules named Soviet leaders over a US launch (Name-calling), and "Whew!" lists who was first at what (Card stacking). These are editorials by one American cartoonist, not state output.
US government posters, 1958 to 1965
The United States Information Agency issued photo posters in many languages for display abroad. They cover the Explorer satellite (1958), "The Space Age" (1959), Ranger 7 moon pictures (1964), Mariner 4 and Mars (1965), and Gemini 3 and Edward White's spacewalk (1965). The usual tags are Transfer, where the prestige of science is attached to the sponsor, and Card stacking, where the successes are listed. A Farsi sheet quotes Vice President Nixon (Testimonial).
Apollo, 1969
A Vietnamese-language fold-out on Apollo 11, credited in the National Archives series to the US mission in Saigon, shows how the same achievement was carried into a different war.
Both sides: what the record supports
Both governments used spaceflight to claim leadership. The holdings here show only the American side, so they cannot show how the Soviet side compares in scale or method. The US posters were also reproduced in several languages for distribution through US posts abroad.
What the collection does not hold
- Not here: Soviet space posters, Sputnik and Gagarin material, stamps, leaflets and cartoons.
- Not here: Apollo-era posters issued in the United States for domestic audiences.
- Not here: Soviet-bloc press coverage of American launches.
Sources and further reading
Sources
U.S. National Archives, Record Group 306 (Propaganda Posters Distributed in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East) and the Jim…
U.S. National Archives, Record Group 306 (Propaganda Posters Distributed in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East) and the Jim Berryman Political Cartoons, Records of the U.S. Senate. Each item in the grid carries its own source and rights note.
