Putting the Puzzle Together for your own Political Cartoon

Before you create your own, lets look at what are the different criteria for a political cartoon Example cartoon:

Step 1: What is the topic? Topic: WWII and U.S. neutrality

Step 2: Message What is the message of the cartoon? Europeans and their issues in a bed Uncle Sam (America) is in a separate bed than Europe Message: America does not want to be in Europe’s affairs/issues; they are not America’s issues Caption: Helps to explain the message

Step 3: Symbols Use symbols to portray ideas Lets look at some symbols here Use symbols to portray ideas Lets look at some symbols here Smell/Odor= negative image of issues-cannot put up with it Separate beds= America separate from Europe (all of Europe together Europeans have the “diseases”

Step 4: Specific Individuals? Think about if you are going to use specific individuals. Uncle Sam Europeans (Groups, not specific individuals): Russians, Germans, Italians and British

Step 5: Create your own! Use the guidelines above to come up with your own ideas and you are ready to create a political cartoon!