Throughout his work in 1941 Geisel was particularly critical of the America First Committee. Established in September 1940, America First aimed to preserve the isolationist stance of the United States and prevent it from entering the Second World War. The rhetoric utilized by America First carried hints of fascism and, at times, outright anti-Semitism, marking the organization’s sympathy for Nazi Germany. It also opposed American aid to Great Britain through the Lend-Lease program, instead advocating for preparing for the defense of the United States.
Geisel frequently singled out American aviator Charles Lindberg, who was a prominent front-man for America First, in his cartoons. On September 11, 1941 Lindberg had spoken to a crowd of America First supporters in Des Moines, in which he suggested that Germany was no threat to the United States and that a primary force pushing for war was the American Jewish community. He further suggested that war with Germany might serve the interests of American Jews, but not the nation as a whole. He even went so far as to repeat conspiracy theories regarding the influence of Jews in American media.
In this cartoon, published on October 1, 1941, Geisel steps back from his usual attacks on the person of Lindberg and instead satirizes the mentality of the organization as a whole. The cartoon features a bespectacled woman reading the story of “Adolf the Wolf” to two startled children. She recounts the grim fate of children that had fallen under Hitler’s control before adding, with a grin, “but those were Foreign Children and it really didn’t matter.”
The message that Geisel is trying to advance in this cartoon is that supporters of the America First Committee were well aware of the horrors of the war, but that they were simply indifferent to the suffering of anyone who was not American. Despite criticism of this kind America First would continue to be a powerful force in American politics until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It would not disband until December 11, 1941, the day that Germany declared war on the United States.
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