World Divided

This cartoon, published in 1955 during the Cold War, shows the world divided by the Iron Curtain. One half is represented by the flag of the Soviet Union and on the other by the United Nations flag. Lincoln is looking across the curtain wearing a look of curiosity. He is holding a paper with a quotation from his House Divided speech: “Government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.” The cartoon uses the words of Lincoln to highlight the inability of communism, portrayed as slavery, and democracy, portrayed as freedom, to coexist in the world.