Awaiting the Decision from Paris
1/19/1919
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Published a day after the opening of the World War I peace conference, this cartoon features two world mapmakers smoking pipes as they await news of renegotiated borders. The impact of the newly-declared right of national self-determination; the end of the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires; and the seizure of Germany’s colonies had the potential to radically redraw the map.
The ease of the patient mapmakers contrasts with the tense negotiations that occurred at the peace conference and the bitterness produced by the decisions reached there. Articles published at the same time as this cartoon reflected American and Allied agreement that Germany should be stripped of its colonies, although there was considerable uncertainty over the future status of the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans.
This cartoon was drawn by Clifford Berryman, one of Washington, DC's best-known cartoonists in the early to mid-1900s. Berryman drew for the Washington Post and Evening Star newspapers. His cartoons touched on a variety of subjects including politics, elections, and both World Wars.
This cartoon is featured in America and the World: Foreign Affairs in Political Cartoons, 1898–1940, a free PDF book from the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives.
The ease of the patient mapmakers contrasts with the tense negotiations that occurred at the peace conference and the bitterness produced by the decisions reached there. Articles published at the same time as this cartoon reflected American and Allied agreement that Germany should be stripped of its colonies, although there was considerable uncertainty over the future status of the Ottoman Empire and the Balkans.
This cartoon was drawn by Clifford Berryman, one of Washington, DC's best-known cartoonists in the early to mid-1900s. Berryman drew for the Washington Post and Evening Star newspapers. His cartoons touched on a variety of subjects including politics, elections, and both World Wars.
This cartoon is featured in America and the World: Foreign Affairs in Political Cartoons, 1898–1940, a free PDF book from the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives.
This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Senate .
National Archives Identifier: 6011547
Full Citation: Cartoon V-041; Awaiting the Decision from Paris; 1/19/1919; Berryman Political Cartoon Collection, 1896-1949; Records of the U.S. Senate , Record Group 46 ; National Archives Building, Washington DC, 20408. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/awaiting-decision-paris, January 24, 2025]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
