A window into Dr. Seuss' lesser known role -- beyond cats in hats -- as a progressive political cartoonist in the mid-1900s.

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Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel, Mar. 2, 1904 -- Sept. 24, 1991) was the Baby Boomers' most beloved artist-author and his timeless popularity has never subsided. Horton Hears a Who! was published in 1955 and The Cat in the Hat in 1957. Seuss was not a Ph.D; he adopted the "Dr." moniker because his father wanted him to become a medical doctor rather than an artist. His family was German and he was raised Lutheran.

Childless, his 60+ children's books sold over 600 million copies by the time of his death. Dr. Seuss was also a poet, animator, book publisher, and political cartoonist who devoted a significant amount of his creativity toward artistic support of the US involvement in WW2.

Seuss was also a liberal Democrat and was a staunch supporter of FDR and the New Deal. "His early political cartoons show a passionate opposition to fascism, and he urged action against it both before and after the United States entered World War II."

His views on immigrant children are expressed in the accompanying political cartoon, another example of his timeless art and perspective. It appeared in PM Magazine on October 1, 1941, with the caption, "... and the wolf chewed up the children and spit out their bones... but those were foreign children and it really didn't matter."

Most of Seuss' children's books have a progressive theme. For instance, the topic of Yertle the Turtle (1958), was Adolf Hitler and anti-authoritarianism. The Lorax (1971), addresses environmentalism and anti-consumerism; and The Sneetches (1961) focused on racial equality.

[Wiki's note: this cartoon as a digital object was made available by Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego Library, La Jolla, 92093-0175]

Authors Website: http://www.OceanViewArts.com

Authors Bio:

Meryl Ann Butler is an artist, author, educator and OpedNews Managing Editor who has been actively engaged in utilizing the arts as stepping-stones toward joy-filled wellbeing since she was a hippie. She began writing for OpEdNews in Feb, 2004. She became a Senior Editor in August 2012 and Managing Editor in January, 2013. In June, 2015, the combined views on her articles, diaries and quick link contributions topped one million. She was particularly happy that her article about Bree Newsome removing the Confederate flag was the one that put her past the million mark.

Her art in a wide variety of media can be seen on her YouTube video, "Visionary Artist Meryl Ann Butler on Creativity and Joy" at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcGs2r_66QE

A NYC native, her response to 9-11 was to pen an invitation to healing through creativity, entitled, "90-Minute Quilts: 15+ Projects You Can Stitch in an Afternoon" (Krause 2006), which is a bestseller in the craft field. The sequel, MORE 90-Minute Quilts: 20+ Quick and Easy Projects With Triangles and Squares was released in April, 2011. Her popular video, How to Stitch a Quilt in 90 Minutes with Meryl Ann Butler can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrShGOQaJQ8

She has been active in a number of international, arts-related projects as a citizen diplomat, and was arts advisor to Baltimore's CIUSSR (Center for Improving US-Soviet Relations), 1987-89. She made two trips to the former USSR in 1987 and 1988 to speak to artists, craftpeople and fashion designers on the topic of utilizing the arts as a tool for global wellbeing. She created the historical "First US-Soviet Children's Peace Quilt Exchange Project" in 1987-88, which was the first time a reciprocal quilt was given to the US from the former USSR.

Her artwork is in collections across the globe.

Meryl Ann is a founding member of The Labyrinth Society and has been building labyrinths since 1992. She publishes an annual article about the topic on OpEdNews on World Labyrinth Day, the first Saturday in May.

OpEdNews Senior Editor Joan Brunwasser interviewed Meryl Ann in "Beyond Surviving: How to Thrive in Challenging Times" at https://www.opednews.com/articles/Beyond-Surviving--How-to-by-Joan-Brunwasser-Anxiety_Appreciation_Coronavirus_Creativity-200318-988.html

Find out more about Meryl Ann's artistic life in "OEN Managing Ed, Meryl Ann Butler, Featured on the Other Side of the Byline" at https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/OEN-Managing-Ed-Meryl-Ann-in-Life_Arts-Artistic_Artists_Quilt-170917-615.html

On Feb 11, 2017, Senior Editor Joan Brunwasser interviewed Meryl Ann in Pink Power: Sister March, Norfolk, VA at http://www.opednews.com/articles/Pink-Power-Sister-March--by-Joan-Brunwasser-Pussy-Hats-170212-681.html

"Creativity and Healing: The Work of Meryl Ann Butler" by Burl Hall is at
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Creativity-and-Healing--T-by-Burl-Hall-130414-18.html

Burl and Merry Hall interviewed Meryl Ann on their BlogTalk radio show, "Envision This," at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/envision-this/2013/04/11/meryl-ann-butler-art-as-a-medicine-for-the-soul

Archived articles www.opednews.com/author/author1820.html
Older archived articles, from before May 2005 are here.