"Since when did we swap our ego for an ostrich?" (The Lindbergh Quarter) PM (April 28, 1941) Seuss and PM believed that the U.S. should intervene in the war in Europe. "I believed the U.S.A. would go down the drain if we listened to the America-First-isms of Charles Lindbergh and Senators Wheeler and Nye," said Seuss. "I, probably, was intemperate in my attacks on them. But they almost disarmed this country at the time it was obviously about to be destroyed."
Transcript
"Since when did we swap our ego for an ostrich?"
(The Lindbergh Quarter)
PM (April 28, 1941)
Seuss and PM believed that the U.S. should intervene in the war in Europe. "I believed the U.S.A. would go down the drain if we listened to the America-First-isms of Charles Lindbergh and Senators Wheeler and Nye," said Seuss. "I, probably, was intemperate in my attacks on them. But they almost disarmed this country at the time it was obviously about to be destroyed."
The first person to fly solo across the Atlantic, Lindbergh, an international hero, spoke highly of Hitler's regime. America First was an anti-interventionist organization against the Roosevelt administration's plans for intervention. Seuss used the ostrich as a symbol of isolationism in many of his cartoons.
"The head eats...
...the rest gets milked"
PM (May 19, 1941)
German Chancellor Adolf Hitler is the prime subject of Dr. Seuss's World War II cartoons. "I had no great causes or interest in social issues until Hitler," Seuss said in his biography.
By spring 1941, Hitler controlled most of Europe. In this cartoon, he is the proprietor of "Consolidated World Dairy," with 11 conquered nations making up the body of one single cow. With Hitler at the head,
the hindquarters remain in question.
...and the Wolf chewed up the children and spit out their bones...But those were Foreign Children and it really didn't matter."
PM (October 1, 1941)
In this editorial cartoon, the anti-interventionist organization America First is represented by the mother and the "big bad wolf," which is named for Adolf Hitler. She tells a scary tale, but it is only scary for foreigners. Scholar Philp Nel points out: "As in many of his PM cartoons, a cat bears witness to the
event, its wide-eyed expression suggesting that we, too, should keep our eyes open. The cat and two children appear a bit surprised to hear that Adolf the Wolf's murder of these 'foreign children' doesn't matter, simply because the children happen to be 'foreign.' Like this cartoon, Seuss's children's stories
state that it did matter and it does matter."
"A Toast to Next Thanksgiving:
Here's hoping we're not the bird!"
PM (November 20, 1941)
Even the Cat in the Hat's famous red-and-white-striped hat has a political predecessor in the top hat Uncle Sam wears in Dr. Seuss's wartime cartoons. In his cartoons, the United States was symbolized as both the human version and the bird version of Uncle Sam. Dressed in bow tie, striped pants, cutaway
jacket and top hat, and the bird version (a Seussian eagle) also dons the striped top hat with stars.
"What This Country Needs Is a Good Mental Insecticide"
PM (June 11, 1942)
In the early 1940s Jim Crow laws remained upheld and racial segregation was prevalent in schools, sports, labor and the military. Many of Dr. Seuss's most powerful cartoons attacked race prejudice and anti-Semitism. At the time, these topics were rarely discussed in the mainstream media, and were seen
as highly controversial.
"Listen maestro...if you want to get real harmony, use the black keys as well as the white!"
PM (June 29, 1942)
Two weeks prior to this cartoon¹s publication, an estimated 18,000 African Americans gathered at Madison Square Garden in New York City to hear A. Philip Randolph speak out against racial
discrimination in the military, war industries, government workforce and labor unions. This cartoon underlines that the black labor keys haven¹t been used, and that "real harmony" in the war effort relies
on using both the white and the black keys.
"Waiting for the Signal from Home..."
PM (February 13, 1942)
Dr. Seuss¹s portrayal of the Japanese and Japanese Americans was not unlike other racist portrayals in the media during the Pacific War. This cartoon was drawn just days before the Roosevelt administration
decided to put all Japanese Americans living on the West Coast into internment camps. This offensive cartoon pointed to the Japanese Americans as saboteurs for which there was no proof. Neither PM nor Seuss ever spoke out against the American concentration camps and there were no letters to the editor
protesting this cartoon.
"What Have You Done Today To Help Save Your Country From Them?"
PM (March 5, 1942)
Some consider Seuss's most powerful editorial cartoons those that juxtapose Japan and Hitler. The figure in this cartoon has "YOU" inscribed on his back, as Seuss asks the reader to get involved, a theme which he repeats in his post-war books. Whether it is saving the environment from pollution today, or saving the U.S. from Fascism in the 1940s, Dr. Seuss's message is clear: "YOU" can make a difference.
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better. It's not.
--The Lorax
"Wipe That Sneer Off His Face
Buy War Savings Bonds & Stamps"
PM and others (October 13, 1942)
Supporting the war bonds effort, Dr. Seuss drew a set of Liberty bonds "cartoons" which appeared in many newspapers. Sold by the U.S. government, the bonds raised money for the war and helped the
public feel they were doing their part.
In Dr. Seuss Goes to War, historian Richard H. Minear, writes: "...it is a surprise that a person who denounces anti-black racism and anti-Semitism so eloquently can be oblivious of his own racist
treatment of Japanese and Japanese Americans.... to realize that the cartoonist is the same Dr. Seuss we celebrate today for his imagination and tolerance and breadth of vision: this is a sobering experience."
Horton Hears A Who!
Dr. Seuss Enterprises / Random House
(September 1, 1954)
On the surface, Horton Hears A Who! (1954) is a whimsical story about a faithful elephant that saves a civilization of tiny beings living on a speck of dust. For Dr. Seuss, the book was a return to the Japan theme following America's seven-year occupation of the country, during a time when America was considering Japan's future after World War II.
Seuss wrote Horton Hears A Who! after returning from a trip to Japan. Dedicated to a Japanese friend, Horton shows that Seuss's views on Japanese/American relations had progressed considerably since his tenure at PM, a decade earlier. The Des Moines Register called the book "a rhymed lesson in protection of minorities and their rights."
That one small, extra Yopp put it over!
Finally, at last! From that speck on that clover
Their voices were heard! They rang out clear and clean.
And the elephant smiled. "Do you see what I mean?...
They've proved they ARE persons, no matter how small.
And their whole world was saved by the Smallest of All!"
--Horton Hears A Who!
Yertle the Turtle
From Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories
Dr. Seuss Enterprises / Random House
(April 1, 1958)
Yertle the Turtle (1958) is the story of a turtle king that is corrupted by his own power. Its central character, modeled on
Adolf Hitler, attempts to build a bigger kingdom stacked on top of the
backs of his loyal subjects. But a little turtle stuck at the bottom eventually decides he's had enough. "I know up on top
you are seeing great sights, but down on the bottom we, too, should have rights!"
On the far away island of Sala-ma-sond,
Yertle the Turtle was king of the pond.
A nice little pond. It was clean. It was neat.
The water was warm. There was plenty to eat.
The turtles had everything turtles might need.
And they were all happy. Quite happy indeed.
They were...until Yertle, the king of them all,
Decided the kingdom he ruled was too small.
"I'm ruler," said Yertle, "of all that I see.
But I don't see enough. That's the trouble with me."
--Yertle the Turtle
The Sneetches and Other Stories
From The Sneetches and Other Stories
Dr. Seuss Enterprises / Random House
(June 1, 1961)
Dr. Seuss revisited a theme from his World War II political cartoons with the
publication of The Sneetches in 1961. While its message on racial equality is
universal, The Sneetches was inspired by his opposition to anti-Semitism.
Now, the Star-Belly Sneetches Had bellies with stars.
The Plain-Belly Sneetches Had none upon thars.
Those stars weren't so big. They were really so small
You might think such a thing wouldn¹t matter at all...."
...And, really, it's sort of a terrible shame,
For except for those stars, every Sneetch is the same.
--The Sneetches
The Lorax
Dr. Seuss Enterprises / Random House
(August 1, 1971)
Still an environmental warning over three decades after its publication, The Lorax (1971) is an
allegory on the dangers of deforestation, industrial pollution, and corporate greed. Another Seuss
book about how individuals can make a difference, The Lorax was his personal favorite.
You're in charge of the last of the Truffula Seeds.
And Truffula Trees are what everyone needs.
Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care.
Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air.
Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack.
Then the Lorax
and all of his friends
may come back.
--The Lorax
The Butter Battle Book
Dr. Seuss Enterprises / Random House
(March 1, 1984)
Published in 1984, on his 80th birthday, The Butter Battle Book was the most controversial tale that Dr. Seuss ever wrote. A parody of the Cold War, it is the story of an arms race between the Yooks and the
Zooks, whose disagreement is over how best to butter one's bread. It was aimed squarely at the rhetoric of Ronald Reagan. "I'm not anti-military," Seuss said, "just anti-crazy."
