TO GIVE THEM A BREAK . . . / REGISTER VOTE. Circa 1945. 39 1/2x29 1/2 inches. Condition A-: vertical and horizontal folds; pinholes in corners. An interesting political document, showing a photograph of three African-American children, printed on eye-catching yellow paper. This poster is part of an important campaign that followed the Second World War, of which the most famous image was created by Ben Shahn. In 1943 the Congress of Industrial Organizations created the first Political Action Committee to help financially support the reelection of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and these posters were widely distributed in order to "protect the political rights of the working man, the returning service man, the farmer and the small businessman" (Prescott p. 124). While most of the posters addressed the labor force (welders, farmers etc) this image made a seldom seen social and ethnic appeal. In 1955, the CIO merged with the American Federation of Labor.
