What Happened to the One We Used to Have?
Newspaper articles describing the plight of European war refugees, legal impediments to their admission to the U.S., and statements urging President Truman to liberalize immigration regulations preceded Herblock’s cartoon by days. In this cartoon, Herblock questions reduction of immigration quotas during the Depression and World War II. He depicts Lady Liberty, representing U.S. immigration policy, as a figure halting immigrants, not as the traditional beacon of hope to new arrivals. Reduction of immigration quotas during the Depression and World War II highlight changes in policy that Herblock clearly questions.
Newspaper articles describing the plight of European war refugees, legal impediments to their admission to the U.S., and statements urging President Truman to liberalize immigration regulations preceded Herblock’s cartoon by days. In this cartoon, Herblock questions reduction of immigration quotas during the Depression and World War II. He depicts Lady Liberty, representing U.S. immigration policy, as a figure halting immigrants, not as the traditional beacon of hope to new arrivals. Reduction of immigration quotas during the Depression and World War II highlight changes in policy that Herblock clearly questions.