Maybe Turnabout is Fair Play

The cartoon “Maybe Turnabout is Fair Play” by Clifford K. Berryman, published on November 20, 1947, depicts the political debate over how to address the postwar economy. The economy was plagued by disruptive labor strikes and spiraling prices, and some leaders thought the solution was to control labor, while others called for greater regulation of business. The cartoon shows President Harry Truman and Senator Robert Taft each claiming the other is a “slave-maker.”

• What was the postwar economy like in the United States?
• What were the two main solutions proposed to address the problems in the economy?
• What is the message of the cartoon?

• The postwar economy in the United States was plagued by disruptive labor strikes and spiraling prices.
• The two main solutions proposed to address the problems in the economy were to control labor or to regulate business.
• The message of the cartoon is that both sides in the debate over the economy are trying to control the other, and that neither side is truly interested in helping the American people.