Credit: The Lilly Library
This is a page from a 16-page pamphlet of satirical verses written by Hamilton G. Park, with cartoon illustrations by Paul Clowes. The pamphlet’s cover features a caricature of FDR with a sack labeled ‘3rd term’ chasing a goose labeled ‘The Presidency.’ The verse reads:
Wee Wendell Willkie
Wee Wendell Willkie, fills our hearts with cheer,
Because he ain’t a bit afraid
Of enemies who smear.
Nothing they can say or do,
His style can hurt or cramp,
He’s ready for the best of them,
Even for their CHAMP!
Return to INDEX
Credit: Corbis
Several Willkie campaign items played off the pronunciation of the candidate's last name. As one would imagine, these "key" themes were along the lines of: "Willkie: The key to peace" or "Willkie is the key to economic recovery." An item now prized by Willkie memorabilia collectors is a campaign button with a small metal key suspended under it by a ribbon.
Return to INDEX
Credit: The Lilly Library
The text at the top of this newspaper cartoon reads: A Terrible Dream in the Union League Club. Willkie’s untiring promotion of internationalism, which intensified after his 1942 trip around the world, continued to upset Old Guard Republicans. Willkie first upset the GOP's conservative wing by his resolute opposition to isolationism. Although Republican isolationists lost some of their power following America's entrance into World War II, the Old Guard was equally upset with Willkie’s support for a United Nations organization. In this matter, the Republican Old Guard shared the philosophy of the Union League Club of Chicago, a conservative civic organization opposed to the United Nations on the grounds that it would undermine American sovereignty.
Timothy D. Walker