Poster, Work to Keep Free!, 1943 Printed by the U.S. Government Printing Office Commercial color lithograph (40 x 28") XX1990.3323 Days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 President Roosevelt declared war against the Axis powers (Japan, Germany and Italy). War preparations began immediately. The government prompted factories to re-tool their assembly lines from peacetime production to manufacture the required materials of war – tanks, guns, planes, and aircraft carriers. Posters such as this demonstrated the importance of factory production as a patriotic effort and enticed the unemployed, including women and minorities, to join the labor force. By 1944, the U.S. industrial machine was grinding out as much war goods as all the Axis powers combined: 86,000 tanks, nearly 300,000 planes, 2.5 million machine guns, and 64,000 landing craft for tanks and infantry, as well as 6500 naval ships. This poster was produced by the U.S. Division of Information, Office for Emergency Management as part of the national campaign to focus attention on the need for production. The strong graphic image carries the message using bold, simplified images. A worker’s hand clenches a symbol of manual labor – a hammer. Behind it the shadow of the Statue of Liberty’s hand holds the emblem of democracy – the torch of liberty. The poster focuses on the importance of work and production to assure an Allied victory and thus a democratic way of life. The colors – red, white and blue – underscore the patriotic intent of the poster. Back to Political Propaganda Main Back to Collections Main