![]() ![]() But the body of work he created during the war helped establish the foundations of what the writer Philip Nel has described as “America’s first anti-Fascist children’s writer.” And it helps explain why Dr. ![]() Geisel’s bigoted treatment of both only a few months before the forced internment of Japanese Americans was something many believe he tried to atone for in his later books. They also have their own flaws, most notably their racist portrayal of both Japanese citizens and Japanese Americans. Geisel’s political cartoons go a long way in demonstrating how the spirit of Seuss-zany, honest, brash, and brave-was born. But they also deploy a fierce anti-authoritarianism and humanism that runs through all of Dr. They skewer Hitler, Mussolini, and a variety of American nationalists, including Charles Lindbergh and the Catholic priest and radio host Father Charles Coughlin, a fervent anti-Semite and conspiracy theorist. The cartoon, which mocks an apparent blithe naïveté about the dangers posed by Nazi Germany, as well as a callousness regarding the lives of children who aren’t American citizens, makes it a striking accompaniment to modern protests, not least of which is that Trump has named one of his own official platforms “America First.” As a collection, Geisel’s war cartoons target isolationism, anti-Semitism, and racism. ![]()
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