The History of Political Cartoons

 The Creation of The Political Cartoon

The purpose of a political cartoon is to A: Get your own message across in a way that is visually appealing. And B:  Using the visuals to poke fun at or discredit the opposing argument. Detailed in a book titled The Political Cartoon by Charles Press; The old format of political cartooning involved etching a design into a piece of wood. A painstakingly long and tedious as well as costly process. Between the invention of the printing press then the computer. Political cartoons can be mass produced and they have become an essential part to any campaign. Now with AI the concept for cartoons can be made within a matter of seconds.

Here is an example of the old way political cartoons were made versus the new way.

Some of the earliest forms of political cartooning can date back to Europe. Satirical imagery targeting kings like Charles IX and Henri III circulated during the Wars of Religion in the late 16th century. Meanwhile in Italy, they were having their own advancements. The Carracci brothers Agostino and Annibale developed what they called caricatura: portraits that deliberately distorted or exaggerated facial features to convey mockery or criticism. Nowadays this is known by its English name caricature. 

How Political Cartoons Influenced America

National Archives Catalog Number (NAID) 6012445

“Uncle Sam - ‘He wants me to bring him in.’”

The Spanish American war redirected America’s interests from focusing solely on the Western hemisphere to focusing on the rest of the world. The cartoon was titled Tom Loose and was first shared by the Washington Post. It depicts Uncle Sam charging from the Capitol carrying a note reading “Maine Affair”. The cartoon was published on the day after a Senate resolution recognized the independence of Cuba from Spanish rule. The note refers to the explosion of the American battleship USS Maine in the harbor of Havana, an event that triggered demands for U.S. involvement in Cuba’s long-running struggle for independence.

The phrase “‘Lafayette, we are here!’” was used in countless political cartoons. In this cartoon, Berryman makes mocking use of the saying to argue for American intervention in World War II. Published on the eve of Germany’s invasion of France. Uncle Sam in the center of America is seated safely behind a border wall and surrounded by weapons and planes. Many believed America’s involvement in the war was uncalled for and only made situations worse.

The Evening Star May 22, 1940

“‘Lafayette, we are here!’”

Racism in Political Cartoons

History Hit

Nobody is Safe

Finally political cartooning was used to spread racist messages during major world events like World War II. During World War II there was an increase of anti-Japanese propaganda where they were called slurs, and depicted as people who were unable to have complex thoughts due to broken English. Historical Political Cartoons have been archived on History Hit. This is just one of the many racist caricatures that were made in our history. While Political cartoons are a useful tool to spread messages. They can be equally as harmful as they are helpful.

World War II came and went. But that is nowhere near the end of racist cartoons. The civil rights movement of the 1960s saw an increase in anti-black cartoons. This cartoon archived on The Library of Congress depicts segregation during this time period. We see a white waiter being okay with not seating a black family because “They are not American”. Political cartoons were used to further spread the messages of segregation.

The Library of Congress

"It's all right to seat them. They're not Americans"

AI was used in the collecting and summarizing of academic sources. And to show an example of how AI can create the concept of a political cartoon.

Five Star Final | Reflection

Ethical Or Not? The Million Dollar Question 

Warner Bros

Five Star Final

The 1931 film Five Star Final tackles the ethical concerns of journalism head on. Back when journalism was just entering the Penny Press era, a shift happened. Now stories were told to gain the most attention because attention equals profit. Money was the driving force behind any decisions during this time. People could become rich beyond their wildest dreams by creating Press Empires. Now they don't have to please a politician or a king. There was much more freedom when it came to journalism. But with that freedom comes more responsibility. Suddenly there are morals involved. This film tackles when profit ignores morals.

Warner Bros

Five Star Final

The film follows the New York Evening Gazette as they are desperate for their next attention grabbing headline. Head editor Joseph Randall is pushed by every person above him to revive an old twenty year cold case. He is extremely against the idea at first. He knows reviving this story will get some hypothetical blood on his hands. Little did he know, the deeper he went, there would be blood on his hands. Not wanting to lose his job, Randall caves and begins investigating this case. When the audience first meets Nancy, we see someone who seems like she could never be capable of murder. She is happily married to someone else and her daughter is getting married soon. Randall realizes that there is no reason to disturb the happy family. But with the increase of Sensationalism or “Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages biased or emotionally loaded impressions of events rather than journalistic objectivity, and may cause a manipulation to the truth of a story.” Randall has to go ahead with the story. 

He becomes dedicated to digging up as much dirt on Nancy he can. This is really where any morals go out the window. He sends reporter T. Vernon Isopod undercover. Isopod disguises himself as a minister who wants to officiate Jenny’s wedding. Her parents blindly trust Isopod having no idea that their world is about to come crashing down. The story goes live the night before the wedding. It exposes how Nancy got away with murder.

The story was so traumatizing it results in the double suicide of Nancy Voorhees and Michael Townsend.

Warner Bros

Five Star Final

Michael, unable to live without Nancy, kills himself after she shoots herself due to the shame that came from the story being published.

Jenny is devastated by her parents' deaths, she goes straight to the New York Evening Gazette and threatens to shoot everyone in the building. Until her new husband talks her down.

This film does an amazing job detailing the shift between journalism in the Partisan Press Era versus the Penny Press Era. While usually not this dramatic. There are real consequences when journalists play with real people’s lives like Randall did in this film. Five Star Final does not serve as a warning for what will happen when sensational journalism becomes the norm. Since 1931 sensationalism has only become worse with things like clickbait.

EOTO Reaction

My thoughts on several presentations. 

The first presentation was about CBS/NBC red and blue networks and how they could only have one. I did not have many notes on this presentation as I had entire classes where we went over this topic in great detail.

Music journalism in the 1950's and 60’s was the golden age. Go on tour with bands in the studios all behind the scenes. Brought forward social movement messages and went beyond rock and roll. 

Ida B. Wells news reporter in 1880’s freed by the emaciation proclamation. Holly springs Mississippi. Exposed white newspapers and pioneered interviewing techniques still used today. Was chased out of Memphis. I hope she gets the credit she deserves. Oftentimes women of color are ignored and their accomplishments are diminished.

Investigative journalism early history. Nellie Bly faked being mentally ill to get an inside look at insane asylums. Not political and showcases real people and events. Truth transparency and accountability. This last line is one that stuck out to me because it can be applied to many aspects of communications. 

Data-Driven Journalism modern investigative journalism method using computers and data. analyze databases to uncover information. Phillip Meyer started this with the Detroit Riots. Sarah Cohen investigates government data. Exposed problems in hurricane relief programs.

Shift in Election Night overage. It took over 200 years for election coverage to become instant. There was no election night back then due to people taking weeks to travel. 1840’s Election night. Newspapers leaned into this. Projected results onto buildings. Competition to be first. In 1952 it became televised. National Election Pool to prevent conflicting results. 

Fashion Journalism. Clothes used to show social class. Fashion plates were used to show off new trends. The original fashion magazine. Magazines reflected social changes like women entering the workforce. Expanded to television in the 1980’s by discussing celebrity outfits and trends. Blogs made it possible to share opinions without a magazine publication.