{"product_id":"original-u-s-wwii-home-front-anti-japanese-propaganda-pinback-button-lot-5-pieces","title":"Original U.S. WWII Home Front Anti-Japanese Propaganda Pinback Button Lot – 5 Pieces","description":"\u003cp\u003eOriginal Item. Only One Available. This is a deadstock group of five American WWII home-front propaganda pinback buttons centered on the war against Imperial Japan. The buttons have printed faces beneath clear protective coverings over metal bodies and use the short, forceful slogans typical of wartime patriotic ephemera. The five designs read \u003cb\u003e\"SWAT THE JAP,\" \"BUY BONDS AND BYE BYE JAPS,\" \"DOWN WITH THE RISING SUN,\" \"LET'S MURDER THE SON OF THE SUN,\"\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003e\"REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR • KEEP 'EM DYING.\"\u003c\/b\u003e The last is the most graphic of the group, depicting a stereotyped Japanese serviceman centered within the crosshairs of a gunsight. The wording is retained here as it appears on the original wartime artifacts; \"Jap\" is a derogatory racial term that was widely employed in American anti-Japanese propaganda during WWII.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe group remains in good overall condition with storage-related aging to the faces and metal rims. There is general toning, scattered spotting and soiling, fading, and light surface wear. The dark blue \"LET'S MURDER THE SON OF THE SUN\" button shows the most noticeable wrinkling and deterioration to its clear surface covering, while the \"REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR\" example has scattered age spotting. All five principal designs and slogans remain readily legible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHistorical Context\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFollowing the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, American public opinion shifted decisively toward entering the Second World War. The attack prompted a surge of patriotic sentiment, accompanied by widespread anger toward Japan. Within weeks, anti-Japanese slogans appeared throughout American popular culture, circulating on posters, advertisements, novelty merchandise, and patriotic accessories. Small pinback buttons became an inexpensive means for civilians to express support for the war effort, particularly during the early years of American involvement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAmerican wartime propaganda was closely connected to the enormous financial and industrial demands of the conflict. Following the introduction of Series E Defense Bonds in May 1941, the federal government expanded its bond-selling program after Pearl Harbor, promoting War Bonds through national advertising, organized bond drives, workplace campaigns, and public appearances by celebrities. Civilians were encouraged to regard purchasing bonds as a direct contribution to military victory, helping finance the production of aircraft, ships, weapons, and essential supplies. Patriotic slogans frequently incorporated references to defeating the Axis powers, turning financial participation into a highly visible expression of national loyalty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Rising Sun was another prominent symbol in American Pacific War propaganda. Closely associated with Japan's imperial armed forces, the design became an easily recognizable representation of the military enemy. The Imperial Japanese Army and Navy both employed rising-sun flags, although their respective military flag designs differed in the placement of the central sun. American wartime artists frequently adapted this imagery into cartoons, posters, and novelty objects, often combining it with aggressive slogans intended to encourage public support for military operations in the Pacific.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe phrase \"Remember Pearl Harbor\" also developed a lasting place in American wartime culture. It appeared in popular songs, newspaper headlines, military publicity, and patriotic merchandise, serving as a continuing reminder of the attack that brought the United States into the war. Its use extended well beyond the opening months of the conflict, remaining prominent as American forces fought through the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, the Philippines, and the Central Pacific.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eParticularly relevant to the group's more aggressive designs is the widespread use of racial caricature in American anti-Japanese propaganda. Wartime cartoons frequently exaggerated Japanese physical features and presented the enemy through deliberately hostile or dehumanizing imagery. Such portrayals reflected existing anti-Asian prejudices within American society, intensified by the shock of Pearl Harbor and subsequent fighting in the Pacific. The language used in popular propaganda was often exceptionally harsh, particularly in material intended to ridicule or vilify Japanese military personnel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis hostility also influenced conditions within the United States. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which provided the military authorities with the means to exclude civilians from designated areas. Approximately 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, including tens of thousands of American citizens, were subsequently subjected to forced removal and incarceration. Although wartime propaganda was only one element of the broader political and social climate, its racial stereotypes formed part of the hostility directed toward Japanese Americans during this period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnti-Japanese patriotic buttons continued to circulate throughout the war, reflecting the close relationship between civilian morale, commercial novelty production, and official wartime objectives. Their direct language and inexpensive construction made them accessible expressions of popular sentiment at a time when Americans were encouraged to demonstrate their commitment to victory in everyday life. Today, these pieces preserve a particularly revealing aspect of the American home front, documenting both the patriotic mobilization of the civilian population and the racial animosity that accompanied the Pacific War.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Original Items","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46018184577093,"sku":"ONJR26SEM088","price":195.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1524\/1342\/files\/ONJR26SEM088__01.jpg?v=1792087172","url":"https:\/\/www.ima-usa.com\/products\/original-u-s-wwii-home-front-anti-japanese-propaganda-pinback-button-lot-5-pieces","provider":"International Military Antiques","version":"1.0","type":"link"}