Source+Analysis

Source 23: What type of source is it? It is an editorial cartoon.

Who designed it? A French cartoonist designed the cartoon.

When was it designed? It was designed in 1950.

Explain the meaning of the message. How did you know? The man with a beret dancing in the tune of the music is Stalin himself. He is seen throwing daggers at the different names of European countries with daggers. The stabbed countries are the countries wherein it is under the Soviets. The daggers symbolize the part of the Russian national dance where the Cossack dancers juggle daggers. You’ll notice that half of the Allemagne is the only part that is stabbed while the other isn’t. This could mean that the other half is being controlled by the U.S.A. France is also seen here as a country that is to be stabbed but when you look at it, it is like there is something that’s stopping it. It could be that France had ties with the U.S.A.

Who is it’s audience? The audience of the cartoon is the people of France against Stalin to show how they should be careful of Stalin’s intentions. Their audiences can also the other European countries to serve as a warning of Stalin’s plans.

How value is it to a historian? It maybe valuable to a historian because it will show how the French view the Russian’s influence over countries that have fallen under Russian influence.

How reliable is it? It won’t be reliable because first off, it is so biased that it already favors the side of the U.S.A. who is against the Russians. It would be reliable if it that would have been your intention on what you will record.

What other information do you need? You need to know the position of the maker of the cartoon. You must know if he is either an independent or is he working for someone else. You need the background of the maker of the drawer so that you could see how it affected the cartoon.

Source 24: What type of source is it? It is an editorial cartoon.

Who designed it? An American cartoonist drew the cartoon.

When was it designed? There was no certain time written but I estimate around the early 1950’s.

Explain the meaning of the message. How did you know? The bear wearing the beret with the red star symbolizes the USSR, which was led by Stalin during post World War II.

Who is its audience? The audience of the cartoon is the American people during the time of U.S. and U.S.S.R conflict after World War II. A bear as we all know, has a very greedy attitude especially when it sees food it just goes directly to it and either scaring away or attacking anyone standing in it’s way. Like the bear, Stalin directly confronted the different European countries that we’re involved in World War II to use “Stalinism” as their government system. It is seen as somewhat showing aggression to the weaker states.

How value is it to a historian? It is of value to a historian because it will point out on all the negative points that is seen in the way Stalin and the USSR was presented in the form of a cartoon.

How reliable is it? It is not reliable again due to the fact that it is again biased by favor to all the negativity in the drawing itself. It can be that others may view Stalin’s intentions for a good cause.

What other information do you need? I need to know the background of the maker of the cartoon itself because we have to know if he is either working for the government of the U.S.A. or he is working independently expressing his own opinion.

Source 27: What type of source is it? It is an American cartoon.

Who designed it? There was no specific detail on who made it but I’m guessing it is an American cartoonist since the cartoon is an American cartoon.

When was it designed? It was designed around the year 1949.

Explain the meaning of the message. How did you know? As we all know, Uncle Sam represents the U.S.A. itself. Uncle Sam is seen carrying a basket filled with a lot of money and on his other hand he is carrying another bag of money. He is seen walking around the globe while some sort of smoke is coming out of his path. The symbolism of it is the Marshall Plan, which states that America will lend money to all involved in the war, which was a collateral damage. With Uncle Sam carrying all that money, it is seen how the U.S. took advantage of the crises in the different countries that were affected by the war. They increased taxes in their country to lend more money. An American woman is seen wearing ragged clothes and saying, “I love the guy, but sometimes I think he’s to good!” It is implying that U.S. made its citizens pay higher taxes so they could lend more money to other countries in need.

Who is its audience? The audience of the cartoon is mainly Americans who were at that time against the increase of taxes in their country.

How value is it to a historian? It is valuable to the historian to see how the Americans view their opposition to the increase of taxes in their country in order to gather enough money so they could lend out loans.

How reliable is it? It is again not reliable because of the fact that you will first have the impression that it is bad but it will help the other countries as well. Then again, it is also wrong because of what was the condition in the Marshall Plan, which states that all loans will have big interest rates. What other information do you need? You need to know the where the cartoonist is working and who is he working for. Is he ordered by someone to draw that cartoon or did he do it independently? Is he a taxpayer of the U.S. and if so, why is he against it?

Source 28: What type of source is it? It is a Soviet cartoon.

Who designed it? There was no maker identified but I have a hunch that it is a Soviet cartoonist.

When was it designed? There was no definite date or year given but I can give the timeline, which was around during the Soviet-U.S.A. conflict.

Explain the meaning of the message. How did you know? The lifeguard in front of the tall skyscrapers could represent the government of the United States. He is seen handing over the lifebelt with the label “Aid to Europe”, which is tied to a rope labeled as the “Marshall Aid”. The lifebelt itself means that it will save Europe from total destruction by giving out loans to them. But in it, you can see that it is tied to the “Marshall Aid” rope. It means that in this help they’re giving out, there is a condition which is they should give back the loans which are given with very high interest rates.

Who is its audience? The audience of the cartoon is the people of the Soviet Union and the others that are against the loans given out by the U.S., which have high interest rates because of the Marshall Plan.

How value is it to a historian? It is valuable to a historian in the sense that it is showing how the U.S. government is trying to reach out help but secretly takes advantage of the help they’re giving out.

How reliable is it? It cannot be reliable in the sense that it was made by the Soviet Union. So it is completely biased. Also, what if the historian wanted to see the Marshall Plan in a positive light?

What other information do you need? You need to know who made the cartoon and know his background. You must also know if he was working for someone or is he independently expresses himself.

Source 29: What type of source is it? It is an editorial cartoon.

Who designed it? David Low, a New Zealander that worked in the United Kingdom.

When was it designed? It was designed in June 1947.

Explain the meaning of the message. How did you know? The man on the left is Marshall who is the author of the Marshall Plan. He is seen here letting the European country leaders to choose the Marshall Plan over the Truman Doctrine. It is seen here how Marshall is putting the choice of the Marshall Plan over the Truman Doctrine as if he is trying to hide it from them. The European leader in the middle is holding a paper, which may represent like an agreement to what he will choose. And the man on the right is like a political advisor that was likely paid by the U.S. government to convince their leaders to choose the Marshall Plan.

Who is its audience? The audience of the cartoon is the different people that were against the Marshall Plan and how it was rigged for the European leaders to choose it rather than the Truman Doctrine.

How value is it to a historian? It is valuable to a historian to see how other countries view the Marshall Plan as an abuse of the situation to make the U.S. richer and more powerful.

How reliable is it? It is sort of reliable because in a sense, the Marshall Plan helped the European countries to rebuild but left them crippled with a lot of debt to the U.S., which was not completely paid by most loaners until the late 1980’s.

What other information do you need? You need more background information about David Low and the reason why is he against the Marshall Plan since he was not affected by it in any way. You must also know more about the Marshall Plan and who gained more benefits to it.

History 20th Century World “The Cold War” p. 139 “The New Religion” by Edmund Vaultman

What type of source is it? It is an editorial cartoon that was made in the West.

Who designed it? Edmund Vaultman designed the cartoon.

When was it designed? It was designed in the year 1966.

Explain the meaning of the message. How do you know? The very meaning of the message is that how Mao Zedong consumed the old cultural ways of China and turned it into a communist country. Mao Zedong is seen in this image as someone who is replacing Buddha and he is seen wearing the symbol of the USSR faction. He is being carried by the Chinese masses while they are chanting something of praise to Mao Zedong’s work. There is also some incense that is being spread around Zedong as a sign of respect and praise to him.

Who is its audience? The audience of the cartoon is the different people that are seeing the communist government of China as something that are not good.

How value is it to a historian? The value of it to a historian is that he or she can see how different countries view the communist government in China as something that are not good.

How reliable is it? It is not reliable because it is completely biased. It is totally mocking the communist government. What if Chinese masses view the cartoon as something offensive to them because for them Mao Zedong is a hero?

What other information do you need? I need to know more about Edmund Vaultman and I have to know if he’s working independently or is he working for someone else. I also have to know if Vaultman was directly or indirectly affected by the situation.

p. 28 “Punch” cartoon

What type of source is it? It is a punch cartoon.

Who designed it? There was no information on who designed it but I have a guess it is an American cartoon seeing how Stalin was being portrayed in the cartoon.

When was it designed? It was designed in the year 1947.

Explain the meaning of the message. How did you know? In the upper left corner of the cartoon, there is awning with a label Balkan & District Railway, which represents the different European countries because this Railway is located among the different European countries. On the left of the cartoon, Truman is seen here being a very polite man as if asking them to ride the Liberty Hotel train and in the train are the different countries that have chosen to side with NATO. On the right side, Stalin is seen forcing the Hungarian man to go inside the train and trying to pull Bulgaria into their train. Truman on the other hand, is politely gesturing the Bulgarian man to join them instead. You can see that inside the Liberty Hotel train it is perfectly comfortable unlike the Pension Russe where everyone inside it is having a hard time fitting in it.

Who is its audience? Its audience is the different countries that are involved in the cartoon itself and the other countries that are not affected by the situation.

How value is it to a historian? It is valuable in a sense that the cartoon is portraying how the U.S. and U.S.S.R. differ in how they treat their allies during their conflict.

How reliable is it? It is not reliable in the sense that it is biased and in favor of the U.S. and showing the ruthlessness of the U.S.S.R. What if the countries where not really treated in that kind of manner?

What other information do you need? I need to know who made the cartoon and know more about his background. I should also know if he has been working independently or is he working for someone else.

Illustration 6.1 p. 97

What type of source of is it? It is a photograph.

Who designed it? There was no direct referral of who the photographer was but I’m guessing an American photographer took the picture.

When was it designed? It was taken in December 7, 1941.

Explain the meaning of the message. How do you know? The message of the photograph is very straightforward. It is about how the Japanese suddenly attacked the American base in Hawaii by surprise. It is showing the destruction of Pearl Harbor after the attack.

Who is its audience? The audience of the cartoon is the people who are against Japan’s sudden attack to the U.S. indiscriminately without any reason at all.

How value is it to a historian? The value of it to a historian is very important because it shows the destruction and chaos in Pearl Harbor. How reliable is it? It is maybe reliable because it is a photograph and somehow it was taken after the attack.

What other information do you need? I need to know more about the person who took this picture and know more about him. I have to know if he was in the very bombing of Pearl Harbor or did he just arrived after the attack.

Illustration 8.2 p. 152

What type of source of is it? It is a photograph.

Who designed it? There was no direct referral of who the photographed it but it may be a Vietcong photographer.

When was it designed? It was taken in the year 1968.

Explain the meaning of the message. How do you know? The message of the photograph is very brutal and unjust. The picture is showing how Police Chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan shot a man who was suspected to be a Vietcong without having a trial of some sort. He just shot the man without any remorse.

Who is its audience? The audience of the cartoon is the people who are against the unnecessary violence in Vietnam during the government crises in their government.

How value is it to a historian? The value of it to a historian is very essential because it shows how they indiscriminately do executions of suspected Vietcong supporters without having a trial to be the basis. How reliable is it? It is maybe reliable because this is a photographic evidence of the violence and chaos in Vietnam.

What other information do you need? I need to know more about the person who took this picture and know more about him. I have to know if he was trying to show the reality of war in Vietnam against communism or is he showing the unnecessary violence in the government itself.