Dr. Seuss and the War We fought, and we sought, and it was not for naught. By S. Morgenstern

Before Children’s books, he did political cartoons. Many poked fun at Hitler and Mussolini...

Others made fun of the Japanese. These were not only during the war, but before it as well. His cartoons reflected the fears and anxieties of Americans about people from Japan, even if they were citizens. This cartoon was printed Sept. 19, 1941 – almost three months before Pearl Harbor!

Seuss did not only make fun of people and policy. He also praised what he saw as beneficial to the country. Cartoons like these appeared in PM, a New York newspaper. Seuss was the chief cartoon editor of this newspaper for two years.

Dr. Seuss spared no one in his cartoons. As you see here, he is calling the at-home patriots on their bluff. It’s one thing to say you’d die for your country when you don’t have to, it’s another to donate when you aren’t fighting.

And he also was not afraid of poking fun at Allied stupidity. Even though this cartoon portrays the Axis as thieves, it was the Allies who didn’t “keep their barn doors locked.”

Some character concepts (notice the Elephant) got their start in his political cartoons. Recognize Horton?!

After the war, Seuss went on to bigger things. And his message grew increasingly anti-war. Few know this, but his books were typically commentary against American and world policy. Yet they were still seen as good children’s literature.

Seuss was not without his critics. But most of them were from the far right and far left, pointing out his over-simplicity for kids, making up of words, and propagandizing nature toward children. It was too liberal or too conservative for whoever was protesting. On the invention of words: Seuss is credited with the creation of... Nerd, 1953 in If I Ran the Zoo

Dr. Seuss’s career lasted over 50 years. His hundreds of kids books were an extension of his work in political cartoons. He did not let World War Two end his political activism. It crept into his books, where it may have had more impact. Theodore “Dr. Seuss” Geisel