A Suggestion to Future Foreign Capital Builders
9/3/1914
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In this cartoon, foreign government buildings dash about on wheels to avoid bombs from airships, reflecting the technological advancements in warfare central to World War I. Traditionally, national capital cities were well behind the lines of battle and were endangered only by the last actions of war. With the invention of airplanes, however, all national territory became part of the battlefield and all citizens were exposed to combat.
The potential threat of aerial bombardment had been widely discussed in the weeks before the war. The cartoonist had a factual basis for this cartoon as well: on August 31, a German aviator eluded the French air squadron and dropped bombs on Paris. The cartoon’s tongue-in-cheek tone is an ironic foreshadowing of the destruction delivered from the air in future wars.
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 potential threat of aerial bombardment had been widely discussed in the weeks before the war. The cartoonist had a factual basis for this cartoon as well: on August 31, a German aviator eluded the French air squadron and dropped bombs on Paris. The cartoon’s tongue-in-cheek tone is an ironic foreshadowing of the destruction delivered from the air in future wars.
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: 6011075
Full Citation: Cartoon H-077; A Suggestion to Future Foreign Capital Builders; 9/3/1914; 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/suggestion-capital-builders, April 28, 2024]Rights: Public Domain, Free of Known Copyright Restrictions. Learn more on our privacy and legal page.