Political cartoons are a unique creation--pictorial editorial and artistic social commentary. The medium of the political cartoon, which combines the political and the artistic with journalism, provides interested persons the chance to express their social concerns or political views creatively. It allows them to make social commentary beyond the boundaries of the writtend word. Most political cartoons are "designed to influence viewers with regard to specific political events of the day" (Press, 14).

Political cartoonists have shaped public opinion since the mid-19th century, and they provide current scholars with a glimpse of the political debate and public opinion surrounding past events. Relying on symbolism and caricature, experimenting in fresh imagery, political cartoons help people think about politics. Whether their purpose is to promote the status quo, raise social concerns, or to spur people to fight hard for change, political cartoons have changed the face of history.

This site focuses on the American political cartoon— its rise to fame, the ethics of cartooning, and the elements that make it effective. The site also provides discussion of the composite portraits of women and ethnic groups that cartoons have provided the American public. Finally, the site will provide a brief bibliography of American political cartooning and an annotated list of related links.
 
 

In the 1870s, a New York politician named William Tweed became deeply embroiled in a bitter scandal involving the disappearance of more than 200 million taxpayers's dollars. The scandal was, of course, covered by the newspapers, and the people of New York were upset. There was, however, a turning point in this event--a point at which the event became a scandal that would cost William Tweed his career and his freedom. The turning point involved some editorial cartoons by a cartoonist named Thomas Nast.
 
 

In response to the event, Thomas Nast launched a series of cartoons about the "Tammany Ring," the group of politicians involved in the scandal. The demise of William Tweed, a New York politician in the 1870s, caused by the attention paid to him by Thomas Nast, a political cartoonist was "perhaps the defining moment" in American political cartooning (Fischer, 7). Tweed is attributed with exclaiming, "'Stop them damned pictures. I don't care so much what the papers say about me. My constituents can't read. But, damn it, they can see pictures!'" (Fischer, 2). Political cartoons had the ability to reach both the literate and the illiterate, and Nast's cartoons outraged the public against Tweed and the Tammany Ring. Tweed was imprisoned, but escaped, only to later be identified (so the legend goes) in Spain by a customs clerk who recognized him from Nast's caricatured version. In his suitcase was said to be a complete set of Nast's cartoons that portrayed him (Fischer, 2).
 
 
 

Nast, in his role of cartoonist, changed political history and transformed the political cartoon into a stationary entity on the editorial page. "In two years, Nast did more to define the craft of cartooning and demonstrate its potential for political expression than had all his forebears since the cave artists of prehistoric times" (Fischer, 12). Nast's cartoons greatly increased circulation in the periodicals in which they appeared, providing "reinforcement at both the surface and deeper mythic levels of pervasive prejudices and majority values; and (perhaps most telling), a mean intensity rooted in malevolence to produce an immediate impact" (Fischer, 23).

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The Nast-Tweed story is well-known among American history buffs and fans of classic political cartoons. However, the true story behind this tale is a little different, and this difference highlights an important aspect of political cartooning--that the political cartoonist is not necessarily bound by the same ethical standards as journalists. Not all of the commonly known story about this famous duo may be true (Fischer, 7). As mentioned above, Nast probably focused on Tweed because of his physical appearence, not because of the relative level of involvement in the heist. , he was easiest to caricature and to villainize (Fischer, 11). E.H. Gombrich, an art historian, argues that the cartoonist has the ability to "mythologize the world by physiognomizing it" (Fischer, 11). This ability is shown in Nast's use of Tweed's physical characteristics to create "Boss Tweed" the Tammany Ring boss that, essentially, was not.

"What they portray may be an imaginary situation in allegory or a figure greatly distorted by caricature, but to the artists this is the essence of what is actually happening" (Press, 63). Cartoons are, by some, considered to "invoke not only truth but a higher artistic truth, above the ethical parameters of the printed word" (Fischer, 16), even if the facts are not consistent with their pictorial representation of the situation. Political cartoons have "the ethical imperative which lifts transitory journalism into transcending art" (Fischer, 3). Their methods of effecting public opinion and "alter[ing] for the better the course of human events" qualifies them to make statements in picture that would be considered false if they were statements in print.

A fine example of the skewed truth that exists in political cartoons is a cartoon by Thomas Nast that is not known to ever have been published. This cartoon, "Religious Freedom is Guaranteed..." portrays the Catholic and Mormon Churches, "at the feet of liberty" on top of the capitol. On the dome of the capitol is written "Religious liberty is guaranteed—but can we allow foreign reptiles to crawl all over US?" (Fischer, 22). The untruth contained in, and irony of, the cartoon is that the Mormon Church is a strictly North American denomination and is, therefore, not a foreign reptile. The Mormon and Roman Churches, villains of the Gilded Age to the Protestant mainstream, were subject to many unflattering portrayals. This portrayal, however, stretches the truth beyond caricature and demonstrates that blatant bias sometimes can replace truth in the cartoon world.

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Successful political cartoonists "fuse creative caricature, clever situational transpositions, and honest indignation," (Fischer, 3) yet "[i]t is impossible to ascertain precisely how a cartoon achieves its impact' (Fischer,15). Yet there are characteristics that really effective political cartoons share. Charles Press identifies four basic elements of good political cartoons. First, political cartoons have, to some extent, good artistry. The artistry must not get in the way of the message (Press, 19). Second, political cartoons must have genuine sentiment. Though a "cartoon is really an exaggeration to get at an underlying truth," (Press, 19), it must not smack of phoniness. Press argues, "in a good cartoon the aroma of genuine sentiment seems to be floating about in the air somewhere, instead of the more pungent stink of false emotion or false political morality covered with cheap perfume" (Press, 19). Third, an effective cartoon will get its message across with fresh, uncomplicated imagery. "The cartoonist has to present his idea to the viewer in some way that it will be striking, forceful, or amusing, or all three" (Press, 20) but not in a way that confuses or adds more to the statement than the artist intended (Press, 21). Finally, a good cartoon that retains its fame must be of a lasting nature. In other words, "the subject that inspired it must have lasting importance" (Press, 23) so that the cartoon can be understood in later eras when the facts of the then-current political situation have faded from memory. Additionally, political cartoons that were inspired by now-obscure political situations are difficult to analyze because imagery and metaphors presented may not still be familiar (Press, 29).

Political cartoons convey some "truth" through a message, demonstrating a mood around the social or political situation that inspired the cartoon (Press, 62). Yet some critics argue that "cartoons do not change minds, but at best precipitate thought and dialogue" (Fischer, 14). "It is likely that those cartoons most effective as propaganda have tended not to confront and to challenge but rather to reinforce and build on a priori beliefs, values, and prejudices" (Fischer, 15). Just as political cartoons are well-received if they support preexisting values, they are well-received if they utilize preexisting symbolism to convey their point. Viewers who glance at political cartoons are provided, in about ten seconds, with a political opinion that may or may not be attractive to them. To make political cartoons immediately effective, cartoonists rely on symbolism with which the public is familiar. Thomas Nast was the first to use the elephant and the donkey to symbolize the Republican and Democratic partise. Some of the symbolism used in cartoons date back to the late Renaissance (Sheppard, 31). Familiar symbols of the 19th and early 20th century included John Bull and Britannia (England), Brother Jonathan, Uncle Sam and Columbia (United States).

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Cartoon portrayals of minority groups are usually composite portraits--generalized caricatures of the stereotypical member of the minority group. Louis Maurer's "The Great Republican Reform Party Calling on Their Candidate" of the mid-19th century reveals several popular composite portraits of underprivileged groups and factions--the Catholics, blacks, feminists, and the poor (Sheppard, 48). The cartoon, utilizing composite portraits, shows how the Republican candidate John C. Fremont is being "discredited because of its appeal" to these groups (Sheppard, 49).

The composite caricatures of minority groups were often borrowed from those of the penny-opera and non-political cartoons. They were intended to amuse, "as a mythic convention independent from daily events" (Fischer, 103). "Even taking into account the most sinister character traits embodied in the caricatures of the Irish, blacks, and Jews in Gilded Age filler art, more chilling by far was the composite portrait of the American Indian (Fischer, 102). Indians were featured less often in cartoons than other minorities. Thus, Fischer argues,

cartoon stereotype of the Indian was a far more shallow composite than those of other ethnics. Complexities were avoided, hostile traits magnified, and the element of subtlety necessary to transform bald bias into wry condescension altogether absent (Fischer, 102). Whether depicted as a filthy, besotted idler or a maniacal savage wreaking havoc on helpless settlers, the cartoon Indian mirrored the thrust of Gilded Age popular prejudice more nakedly than any minority stereotype, save maybe those of the Mormon or the Roman Catholic hierarchy (Fischer, 103).
 
 

"The Nation's Ward" by Grant Hamilton

Grant Hamilton's "The Nation's Ward" demonstrates popular sentiment about Indians. Portrayed as a savage snake constricting around a young pioneer family, the Native American is fed by Uncle Sam while the pioneers' home burns. This cartoon and others like it protested the U.S. policy of helping Indians through the winter after the Indians had attacked settlers through the summer (Fischer, 113).
 
 

Another element in the portrayal of Native Americans in the political cartoon is that of noble savage idealism. America, in its early days, was portrayed as a lovely young Indian maiden or a brave young Indian warrior (Fischer, 104). This idealism was later mocked in cartoons, such as the anonymous Judge cartoon, "The Noble Indian."
 
 

Women were also subject to the "white male standard" of political cartooning. In the fight for women's suffrage, in which cartooning was used extensively and for which many women cartooned, cartoonists encountered problematic symbolism. According to Sheppard, "[w]omen experimented by incorporating symbols from men's cartoons and appropriating them for their own use, but often discovered that concepts inherited from mythology and tradition reflected male perceptions" (Sheppard, 32). The male perception and idealization of females at the time of the fight for suffrage is best demonstrated in the drawings of Charles Gibson, a cartoonist. The Gibson Girl was the "epitome of American womanhood" (Sheppard, 62)
 
 
 
 

Suffrage cartoons had several different intentions. A common theme was the simple portrayel of women's disenfranchisement, taxation without representation, and dependence on their husbands. Often symbols such as Columbia were used to portray justice as an enshackled woman (Sheppard, 32). Many cartoons ridiculed male voters who justified their right to the vote weakly, such as Lou Roger's "He Does the Family Voting" (Sheppard, 22). Still other cartoons tried to incite women to become involved in the fight for suffrage. Some portrayed anti-suffragist women as uninformed and deluded, such as Laura Foster's "Looking through a Glass Darkly." Others portrayed suffrage as a necessity for children's welfare utilizing emotional appeal, such as Mary Taylor's ironic image "Where the Mother's Vote is Needed" (Sheppard, 129).
 
 

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• Fischer, Roger A. Them Damned Pictures: Explorations in American Political Cartoon Art. Archon Books, 1996. 
• Press, Charles. The Political Cartoon.Fairleigh Dickinson, 1981. 
• Sheppard, Alice. Cartooning for Suffrage. University of New Mexico Press, 1994. 
• The Columbia Encyclopedia. Fifth edition, Columbia University Press, 1993. located at www.infoplease.com 

• The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists: professional information and discussion for and about serious political cartooning.
• Creators.com and CTOONS: fine archives of contemporary political cartoons. There are many sites on the web that showcase individual cartoonists. These two sites archives are especially helpful because they each showcase several cartoonists.
• "Thomas Nast": bibliographic site, many of his cartoons are available at this site.
• ThomasNast.com(Harpweek): basic information on Thomas Nast, includes specific discussion of his work.
• "The Tweed Ring and Thomas Nast": informative coverage of the Tammany scandal and Nast's involvement.
• "Political Leanings of Selected Cartoon Characters": This award-winning site puts a unique spin on the phrase "political cartoon".

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last modified 12 April 2000