AMERICA THROUGH BRITISH EYES

Abstract

Political cartoons of the 1940s offer a rich seam of material enabling us to understand some of the ways in which America figured in the British imagination. Although there are many facets to this topic, there is one overarching theme that runs throughout the period, and that is the question of Britain's subordination to the United States. From within a country at the centre of a dwindling Empire, we can find thoughts and feelings expressed in graphic form which registered the seismic shift as America took over a world leadership role. This perception of dominance and subordination in Anglo-American relations has clearly retained its relevance, and many cartoonists practising at the present time reflect this in their work, as a glance at British newspapers in the course of any week will show. This is often expressed through the depiction of a relationship between the American President and a British Prime Minister who is widely regarded as increasingly presidential, yet subservient to his counterpart. In the 1940s Britain's relative weakness took the tangible form of economic dependency on the United States, and reactions to this situation by political cartoonists such as Low, Illingworth and Gabriel are the main focus of this discussion.