“The Bigger Question” By Daniel Fitzpatrick. This picture was originally published by the St. Louis Dispatch in 1947 and is now currently owned by The State Historical Society Of Missouri, http://statehistoricalsocietyofmissouri.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/ec/id/4453/rec/6
Two years after the Yalta Conference and the decisions about post-war
Poland were made, it seemed that President Truman and the federal government
had done little to aid Europe against the Soviet Union. This reality angered Polish
Americans, as they felt the U.S government was not acting in their, or their
homelands, best interests. This is what forced the Polish American community to
band together and begin their activism in American politics.
In trying to figure out the effects of World War Two and how it directly impacted Polish-
Americans, understanding “The Bigger Question” is very
important. Fitzpatrick’s cartoon was first displayed in the November 28, 1947 St.
Louis Dispatch article in Missouri, although, the original drawing currently resides
in the State Historical Society of Missouri along with 1,750 other original cartoons
by Fitzpatrick. I believe this object to be the most prominent in understanding my
research because the cartoon itself displays the general, overall attitude of the
United States government towards post-war Europe. Although very simple, this
cartoon pushes the public to really think, “Can we afford to help Europe? Can we not
afford to help Europe?” Besides a small person and two large question marks,
nothing else but a cloud of darkness covers the remaining parts of his canvas. It was
simple, yet general questions to the public like the ones Fitzpatrick asked in this
cartoon, which pushed Polish-American’s to become more involved in American
politics
