Ruthless Warfare at Sea
2/1/1917
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This cartoon depicts Uncle Sam’s frustration about the German declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare against any ships in the blockade zone around the British Isles. The new declaration was a departure from Germany’s assurances given after the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915, and reiterated in its 1916 Sussex Pledge, not to sink passenger vessels or merchant ships not carrying war materials.
President Wilson had been re-elected to a second term in November, 1916, on the strength of his having kept the U.S. out of the war. After Germany made peace overtures in December, 1916, Wilson called for a peace conference in a speech to Congress in January, 1917. When the Allied Powers rejected the German and American peace proposals, Germany chose to wage all-out war at sea.
Economically dependent on shipping, and believing in a right to free seas, the United States faced a crossroads in the war. Maintaining a position of neutrality would mean surrendering the right to ship goods across the Atlantic and would leave American ocean travelers at the mercy of German U-boat attacks.
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.
President Wilson had been re-elected to a second term in November, 1916, on the strength of his having kept the U.S. out of the war. After Germany made peace overtures in December, 1916, Wilson called for a peace conference in a speech to Congress in January, 1917. When the Allied Powers rejected the German and American peace proposals, Germany chose to wage all-out war at sea.
Economically dependent on shipping, and believing in a right to free seas, the United States faced a crossroads in the war. Maintaining a position of neutrality would mean surrendering the right to ship goods across the Atlantic and would leave American ocean travelers at the mercy of German U-boat attacks.
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: 6011191
Full Citation: Cartoon U-072; Ruthless Warfare at Sea; 2/1/1917; Berryman Political Cartoon Collection, 1896-1949; Records of the U.S. Senate , Record Group 46 ; National Archives Building, Washington DC, 20408. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/ruthless-warfare-sea, May 6, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.