Exploring American Histories: Printed Page 616

Document 19.6

Abstinence Poster, 1919

This 1919 poster is one of forty-eight produced by the U.S. Public Health Service for its “Keeping Fit” campaign, a sex education program aimed at adolescent boys that stressed moral and physical fitness. Here a fast-talking “wise guy” tries to persuade an innocent-looking youth to overlook the possibly serious consequences of sexual promiscuity.

image
Social Welfare History Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries