President Johnson (Political Cartoons)

The anti-Vietnam War movement was important for the youth of United States because students gathered and projected their collective voice. College students used posters in order to protest along with marches and demonstrations. The Student Mobilization Committee was a national organization which encouraged the formation of campus committees to end the war, such as thee poster Bring the Troops Home Now. The phrase was a common slogan for antiwar organizations and rallies; the phrase was also the name of a newspaper that was dedicated to reduce the amount of troops sent to Vietnam. The designer of the poster is Nancy Coner. Johnson saw the Vietnam War as a struggle in order to end the expansion of communism as part of the containment policy. The public slowly grew in opposition to the war that dragged on especially after televised events of the Tet Offensive. Americans were divided into "hawks" and "doves" in which the doves led anti-war demonstrations. 

The political cartoon is trying to convey the truth of Vietnam. The significance of the cartoon was before the media became involved the citizens were lied about the motives to fight in Vietnam.

Once the media became involved it exposed the cruelties and true horrors of what was happening there.  This also was the beginning of people’s distrust in the government.  The bucket in the left side of the picture explains how the government dealt with the Vietnamese.  They would go into their territory and kill off as much of their culture and families as they could. The police officer is painting over what they wanted to cover up during the war.  In the end, there was no victory in the war. Many were killed and that was the truth that many Americans did not see.

In this particular cartoon from The Washington Post, Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is reinterpreted in such a way that the administration is plagued with problems. Furthermore, this critique of Lyndon Johnson’s handling of the Vietnam War was satirized as being Caesar-like.