Creation Date

February 3 1943

Description

This is a poster emphasizing a quote from the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in a speech he gave on February 3, 1943. Above the quote is a bald eagle flying with an American flag on a pole in its talons.

FDR said, "No loyal citizen of the United States should be denied the democratic right to exercise the responsibilities of his citizenship, regardless of his ancestry.

"The principle on which this country was founded and by which it has always been governed is that Americanism is a matter of the mind and heart.

"Americanism is not, and never was, a matter of race or Ancestry.

"Every loyal American citizen should be given the opportunity to serve this country wherever his skills will make the greatest contribution - whether it be in the ranks of our armed forces, war production, agriculture, government service, or other work essential to the war effort." 

Most of the print is in black, but the seal of the United States and a single sentence are emphasized with red ink. The poster was reproduced by the United States Government Printing Office and created by the Office of War Information in Washington, D. C.