Waiting for His Number!
10/29/1940
Add to Favorites:
Add all page(s) of this document to activity:
In this cartoon, Uncle Sam watches as the blindfolded image of Mars, the Roman god of war, draws a capsule from a jar, while Greece, Britain, Germany, Italy, and Japan march in the distance. The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 introduced the first peacetime draft in U.S. history, and this cartoon was published on the day the first draft numbers were drawn.
The cartoon combines images representing both the beginning of the peacetime draft in America and the expansion of the war overseas. The conflict had recently expanded from Asia and Eastern Europe to the British Isles, Africa, and Southern Europe. The cartoon captures the growing conflict and ominously predicts America as the next country to be called into battle.
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 cartoon combines images representing both the beginning of the peacetime draft in America and the expansion of the war overseas. The conflict had recently expanded from Asia and Eastern Europe to the British Isles, Africa, and Southern Europe. The cartoon captures the growing conflict and ominously predicts America as the next country to be called into battle.
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: 6012221
Full Citation: Cartoon Z-030; Waiting for His Number!; 10/29/1940; 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/waiting-for-his-number, September 17, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.
