“The Best Guarantee of Peace” (June 30, 1936)
by Milton Rawson Halladay (1874-1961)
16 x 18 in., ink on board

Halladay was a native of Vermont and a noted political cartoonist for the Providence Journal (Rhode Island) for nearly fifty years (1900-1947). His cartoons were published in countless other newspapers and magazines. He has been called “one of the deans of American political cartooning.” His cartoon commemorating the death of Thomas A. Edison was a runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize.

One cool footnote: Halladay’s great-great grandson is carrying on the family’s artistic tradition:
halladayart.com/halladay-history

Inching towards military preparedness.

The 1936 National Democratic Convention in Philadelphia was a coronation of sorts for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who faced little serious opposition in his pursuit of a second nomination.

FDR grappled with presenting the political issues of the day to the isolationist public and especially how Roosevelt sought to justify military investment. He gave major speeches at the convention, held in late June, that started to build the case and make the appeal for the rising trouble.

But it was slow-going.

America’s perceived lack of response to Nazi aggression from 1938 on drew national and international criticism. After Paris fell to Hitler in 1940, the United States quietly pivoted toward Britain, as it had in World War I, supplying materials and later armaments in the war against Germany.