"Americans Must Defeat Goldwater" [verso]
- Title:
- "Americans Must Defeat Goldwater" [verso]
- Alternate Title:
- "Americans Must Defeat Goldwater" [verso]
- Collection:
- Persuasive Maps: PJ Mode Collection
- Creator:
- Goldwater Campaign Fund
- Date:
- 1964
- Posted Date:
- 2024-04-25
- ID Number:
- 2567.02
- File Name:
- PJM_2567_02.jpg
- Style/Period:
- 1960 - Present
- Subject:
- Communism & Cold War
Politics & Government - Measurement:
- 36 x 22 sheet (centimeters, height x width)
- Notes:
- This handbill was distributed by "Minnesota Citizens for Goldwater" in support of Senator Barry Goldwater's 1964 campaign for the Presidency against the incumbent, Lyndon Johnson. Goldwater had an uphill fight from the start. He was hampered by his outspoken right-wing positions, infighting with the moderate wing of his own party, and economic conditions under the Johnson administration that left the voters satisfied.
This political handbill supported the argument that Goldwater was the better candidate to prevent the spread of Communism, one of his central arguments. The map (ID #2567.01) shows communist countries in red, with "Pro Communist" and "Contest In Doubt" countries in slightly lighter shades of red. Across the bottom are two quotes in red from Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. One is his assertion that "The U.S. will eventually fly the Communist flag . . . the American people will hoist it themselves." The second is Krushchev's purported statement that "Americans must defeat Goldwater," suggesting that the leader of the Soviet Union preferred Johnson for President.
Below the map is a "List of the Countries That Have Gone Communist in the Past 24 Years," that is, since 1940. The text summarizes the data as showing that "The Democrats have been in power twice as long as the Republicans, but the Democrats have lost 10 times as many countries and 50 times as many people as the Republicans!" The text that follows and is continued on the verso (ID #2567.02) alleges Democratic foreign policy ignorance, incompetence, timidity, secrecy, appeasement, and perhaps complicity. "This campaign . . . will be a contest to decide whether we withstand Communism or surrender to it," it suggests. "Sometime, some place, we must make a stand or doom ourselves, our children and our country to an ETERNITY OF SLAVERY."
In the end, President Johnson carried 44 states (including Minnesota), 61 percent of the popular vote, and 90 percent of the electoral votes.
Cornell University Library is pleased to present this digital collection of Persuasive Maps, the originals of which have been collected and described by the private collector PJ Mode. The descriptive information in the “Collector’s Notes” has been supplied by Mr. Mode and does not necessarily reflect the views of Cornell University. - Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- For important information about copyright and use, see http://persuasivemaps.library.cornell.edu/copyright.