Overview
- Brief Narrative
- American war bond poster printed in 1945, featuring a clenched fist holding war bonds superimposed in front of the Statue of Liberty’s arm and torch. The symbolism of the image implies that purchasing war bonds was a way the public could support and protect American liberty, represented by the Statue of Liberty’s torch, which is also the lone light in the night sky. The United States Government offered the public the opportunity to purchase war bonds, and return them for reimbursement at a later date. Purchasing bonds was considered patriotic and an investment in victory. U.S. posters tended to focus on patriotic themes and appeals to emotion to garner support. War bond advertisement posters were issued by the United States Treasury Department to encourage the purchase of war bonds and war stamps. There were eight war loan drives conducted from 1942 to 1945. The public could purchase a $25 war bond for $18.75, which would be used to help finance the war effort. The war bond could be redeemed 10 years after the purchase for the full $25. Bond quotas were set up on the national, state, county, and town levels to encourage the sale of war bonds. Volunteers went door-to-door to sell war bonds. By the end of the war, 85 million Americans had purchased over $185 billion in war bonds.
- Artwork Title
- 85 Million Americans Hold War Bonds
- Series Title
- Buy War Bonds
- Date
-
publication/distribution:
1945
- Geography
-
publication:
Washington (D.C.)
- Credit Line
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection. The acquisition of this collection was made possible by the Crown Family.
- Markings
- front, bottom right, printed, white : 85 / MILLION / AMERICANS / Hold / WAR BONDS
front, bottom left corner, within border, printed, black ink : [star] U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1945-O-629877
front, bottom center, within border, printed, black ink : OFFICIAL U.S. TREASURY POSTER
front, bottom right corner, within border, printed, black ink : WFD 983-A - Contributor
-
Publisher:
United States Government Printing Office
Distributor: United States Department of Treasury
Distributor: United States Treasury Department War Finance Division
Physical Details
- Language
- English
- Classification
-
Posters
- Category
-
War propaganda
- Object Type
-
Posters, American (lcsh)
- Genre/Form
- Posters.
- Physical Description
- Poster printed on rectangular, heavyweight white paper with an image of a man’s raised hand clutching war bonds, mirroring the raised arm and torch of the Statue of Liberty in the background. The man’s raised right hand and forearm are in the foreground, and he is holding several 100 dollar war bonds. The Statue of Liberty’s right arm holds the torch high, and lights up the starry night sky. Large, white text is in the lower right corner, and the poster has a narrow, white border with small, black text along the bottom. The paper has three evenly spaced horizontal creases and a centered vertical crease.
- Dimensions
- overall: Height: 28.000 inches (71.12 cm) | Width: 22.000 inches (55.88 cm)
- Materials
- overall : paper, ink
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- No restrictions on access
- Conditions on Use
- No restrictions on use
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Patriotism--United States--Posters. Savings bonds--United States--Posters. War posters, American. World War, 1939-1945--Economic aspects--United States--Posters. World War, 1939-1945--Finance--United States--Posters. World War, 1939-1945--United States--Posters. Statue of Liberty (New York, N.Y.) in art. Statue of Liberty (New York, N.Y.)--Pictorial works. Symbolism in art. World War, 1939-1945--Economic aspects--United States. Executive departments
- Geographic Name
- New York (N.Y.) United States
- Corporate Name
- United States. Department of the Treasury
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The poster was acquired by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2015.
- Funding Note
- The acquisition of this artifact was made possible by the Crown Family.
The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
- Record last modified:
- 2023-08-28 07:27:27
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn553957
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Also in World War II American poster collection
The collection consists of nine World War II propaganda and War Bond posters produced in the United States during World War II.
Date: 1941-1945
War conservation poster of cooking fats pouring from a pan
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War bonds poster with a soldier's helmet by a white cross grave marker
Object
Buy War Bonds poster issued by the Institute for American Democracy, Inc. to encourage the purchase of war bonds and war stamps. The poster depicts a US Army combat helmet by a white cross in a graveyard full of crosses, asking .".does it matter whether he was Protestant, Catholic or Jew ? He fought American. He died American. He was American." The United States Treasury Department issued war bonds to encourage the purchase of war bonds and war stamps. There were 8 war loan drives conducted from 1942 to 1945. The public could purchase a $25 war bond for $18.75 which would be used to help pay for the military’s expenses. The war bond could be redeemed 10 years after the purchase for the full $25. Bond quotas were set up on the national, state, county, and town levels to encourage the sale of war bonds. Volunteers went door-to-door to sell war bonds. By the end of the war, 85 million Americans had purchased $185.7 billion dollars worth of bonds. The war in Europe ended May 8, 1945, and the war in Japan on September 2, 1945.
War Bonds advertisement poster
Object
Buy War Bonds poster issued by the Institute for American Democracy, Inc. to encourage the purchase of war bonds and war stamps. The US Treasury Department conducted 8 war loan drives from 1942 to 1945. The public could purchase a $25 war bond for $18.75 which would be used to help pay for the military’s expenses. The war bond could be redeemed 10 years after the purchase for the full $25. Bond quotas were set up on the national, state, county, and town levels to encourage the sale of war bonds. Volunteers went door-to-door to sell war bonds. By the end of the war, 85 million Americans had purchased $185.7 billion dollars worth of bonds. The war in Europe ended May 8, 1945, and the war in Japan on September 2, 1945.
War Bonds advertisement poster
Object
Buy War Bonds poster issued by the Institute for American Democracy, Inc. to encourage the purchase of war bonds and war stamps. The US Treasury Department conducted 8 war loan drives from 1942 to 1945. The public could purchase a $25 war bond for $18.75 which would be used to help pay for the military’s expenses. The war bond could be redeemed 10 years after the purchase for the full $25. Bond quotas were set up on the national, state, county, and town levels to encourage the sale of war bonds. Volunteers went door-to-door to sell war bonds. By the end of the war, 85 million Americans had purchased $185.7 billion dollars worth of bonds. The war in Europe ended May 8, 1945, and the war in Japan on September 2, 1945.
War Bonds poster with a Russian woman and a bombed city
Object
Wartime poster encouraging Americans to buy war bonds. It depicts a Russian woman in a head scarf with the smoldering ruins of a city in the background. These posters were issued by the United States Treasury Department to encourage the purchase of war bonds and war stamps. There were 8 war loan drives conducted from 1942 to 1945. The public could purchase a $25 war bond for $18.75 which would be used to help pay for the military’s expenses. The war bond could be redeemed 10 years after the purchase for the full $25. Bond quotas were set up on the national, state, county, and town levels to encourage the sale of war bonds. Volunteers went door-to-door to sell war bonds. By the end of the war, 85 million Americans had purchased $185.7 billion dollars worth of bonds. The war in Europe ended May 8, 1945, and the war in Japan on September 2, 1945.
War conservation poster of cooking fats pouring from a pan
Object
Poster issued to encourage Americans to save fats from cooking for the war effort. The poster show cooking fats being poured out of a pan, and then shows several bombs being manufactured from that oil.
US war production poster depicting a female factory worker working on an aircraft flare
Object
American war production poster featuring a black and white photographic image of a female factory employee, printed in 1942. The image was meant to promote female participation in the workforce, particularly in manufacturing and blue-collar trades. Before World War II, women’s work was restricted to traditionally “feminine” professions such as typing or sewing, and they were expected to leave the workforce once they married or became pregnant. From 1940 to 1945, over sixteen million men joined the military, and the War Manpower Commission (WMC) was formed in 1942 to stabilize the American workforce. The WMC worked with Unions and employers to minimize turnover and allocate labor where it was most needed for war production. To accomplish this, the WMC and the government began recruiting women, and over five million entered the workforce. The majority of the women undertook the factory and office jobs that the men had vacated, though women earned less for their work. In 1942, the U.S. government established childcare facilities to enable more mothers to participate in the workforce. Even with these new opportunities, minority women struggled against the prejudice of the time to find jobs in certain industries. After the war, women were laid off in large numbers to make room for the return of men to the factories.