Children's Year - Horizontal

This charming poster was created by the joint venture of the United States Children's Bureau and the Women's Committee of the Council of National Defense for "Children's Year". Here we see a group of healthy children frolicking in a field, happy and full of energy. We are told that "the health of the child is the power of the nation". At first blush, it may be confusing to see a non-war focused poster printed in the midst of some of the bloodiest battles of WWI, but a bit of history helps to explain.

As WWI raged on, America found itself running out of young men healthy enough to serve in the military, even as the draft was begun. President Woodrow Wilson was shocked to learn of this shortage, and to further learn that most of the reasons these young men were seen unfit to serve was due to entirely preventable diseases linked to nutrition and clean air. As an executive order, Aptil 1918 - April 1919 was declared 'Children's Year', which was a wide-reaching survey of all children and babies in the United States. The goal was to take an inventory of the nation's youth's overall health, to see how the government might be able to help in providing social services. As the Chicago, Illinois, Health Commissioner observed: "The number of men killed in war is not so serious an index of loss as is the high infant death rate." $150,000 from the War Emergency Fund was diverted to this issue.

Francis Luis Mora (1874-1940) was a Uruguayan-born painter and illustrator who immigrated to the United States.

This is an Original Vintage Poster; it is not a reproduction. This poster is conservation mounted, linen backed, and in excellent condition. We guarantee the authenticity of all of our posters.