1969 Hugo Political Cartoon of President Nixon Juggling Policies in Vietnam
Our New Role in Asia?
Visualizing Vietnamization.
Visualizing Vietnamization.
This is a c. 1969 Ric Hugo manuscript political cartoon of President Richard Nixon juggling three bowling pins while riding a bicycle through Southeast Asia. Hugo is satirizing Nixon's attempt to juggle multiple aspects of a serious situation while performing a stunt to distract the American people.A Closer Look
President Nixon is illustrated riding a bicycle through Southeast Asia while juggling three bowling pins labeled 'Troop Withdrawals,' 'Commitments,' and 'Treaties.' These were the three main tenets of the Nixon Administration's 'Vietnamization' program. Vietnamization refers to the Nixon Administration's policies to extract the United States from the Vietnam War by increasing South Vietnamese participation. Nixon pledged to begin withdrawing American troops from Vietnam while at the same time training and equipping South Vietnamese armed forces to continue the fight against North Vietnam and the Viet Cong. He also pledged that the United States would honor all treaty commitments. Nixon stated that, 'this withdrawal will be made from strength and not weakness,' and he also urged the 'great silent majority of [his] fellow Americans' to support his plan to end American involvement in Vietnam.Publication History and Census
This cartoon was drawn by Ric Hugo c. 1969. We have not found any published versions of this cartoon. As a hand-drawn piece, it is unique.Cartographer
Richard Mathias 'Ric' Hugo (June 6, 1927 - April 14, 2003) was an American cartoonist and artist. Born in Berkeley, California, Hugo entered the U.S. Navy Reserve in June 1945 and was discharged in July 1946. After his discharge, Hugo attended San Francisco Junior College for a time before entering the California College of Arts and Crafts in 1947. He graduated from the College of Arts and Crafts in 1950. He held several jobs during the 1950s, including as a technical artist for the Navy, art director for 'Ampex' Tape Recorders, and an illustrator. He joined the staff of the Sacramento Bee in 1966 as an editorial artist, where he drew the Soliloquy cartoon strip and worked as a courtroom sketch artist. He attended the trials of Sirhan Sirhan (who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy), Juan Corona, and other sensational trials. Hugo retired from the Bee in 1989. He married his wife Gracie on September 1, 1951, with whom he had three children. Ric and Gracie were married for 51 years before he died. Further Details...
Condition
Excellent. Manuscript drawing on art paper.