Dr. Seuss and Uncle Sam: The Political Cartoons of Theodor Geisel, 1941-1943

This is an examination of the WWII era political cartoons of Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss), which covered a variety of topics ranging from isolationism to anti-Axis propaganda to racism and bigotry at home. The project further investigates the attitudes of German-Americans towards Hitler, using Geisel's very vocal hatred of the Nazi leader to compare his sentiments with many of his contemporary peers.

The appendix features a curated collection of approximately 1/8 of Geisel's over 400 WWII-era cartoons, and is best viewed in conjunction with the poster. I have arranged the cartoons by topic, and within each topic, chronologically to ensure that they are as easy to interpret as possible.

Please feel free to email me or comment if you have any questions or follow-ups regarding my project or interpretation of Geisel's cartoons. I am more than happy to discuss further details about any of these cartoons, answer questions, or talk to you about my methods and findings in more depth. If you would also like to read my full research paper discussing my findings, please let me know, and I would be more than happy to share that with you as well.

Enjoy!