1. A History of Political Cartooning Satire in a Glance
Darryl Cagle’s Professional Cartoonists Index 12/31/05

2. Benjamin Franklin—Considered the first political cartoonist.
His most famous cartoon
What is the cartoon about?
What event or issue inspired the cartoon?
What symbols are in the cartoon? What are they and what do they represent?
What is Franklin’s opinion? Why the comma?
A woodcut, 1754, for the Albany Conference. Franklin created this cartoon to impress upon others his belief that the colonies could more effectively fend off the French and their native American allies if the colonies banded together. Later on, this image was used in the Revolutionary war for the same purposes.

3. Join, or Die…in 2008
Robert Ariail, The State, South Carolina, July 1, 2008

4. Another famous Civil War era cartoonist was Thomas Nast.
…although his face may not be familiar, he did give to the world a very familiar face…
HO!

5. Though we know Nast best because he gave us an image of Santa, in his day, he was best known for his political cartoons.
The following cartoon was produced following the Civil
War as part of an attack on paper money. Nast was a really strong
“hard-money” guy…he preferred “hard” money—gold coins.
VS.

6. Those who preferred the gold standard felt that the gold actually was money. Paper money, on the other hand, was merely a metaphor for money; it represented the idea of money, but was not real money. Consider these:
George Bernard Shaw “You have to choose [as a voter] between trusting to the natural stability of gold and the natural stability of the honesty and intelligence of the members of the Government. And, with due respect for these gentlemen, I advise you, as long as the Capitalist system lasts, to vote for gold.”
Voltaire ( ) “Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value — zero.”
Daniel Webster,  speech in the Senate, “We are in danger of being overwhelmed with irredeemable paper, mere paper, representing not gold nor silver; no sir, representing nothing but broken promises, bad faith, bankrupt corporations, cheated creditors and a ruined people.” or “Of all the contrivances for cheating the laboring classes of mankind, none has been more effective than that which deludes them with paper money." 
Article One, Section Ten,  United States Constitution "No state shall emit bills of credit, make any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts, coin money—-."

7. With those thoughts in mind, consider this Nast cartoon:
Nast used a rag doll to represent a real baby in this cartoon to juxtapose to the paper to feed the baby. As a result, the slang expression for money became“rag money”.

8. A good observer of cartoons never takes anything for granted.
Nast was a master at making every detail count. Why did he include each detail of this cartoon?
What is his message?
What satiric techniques does he employ?

9. World War II

10. The World of Dr. Seuss
NOW!
And then….

11. What’s Geisel’s message?
From 1941 to 1943 Theodore Seuss Geisel was the chief editorial cartoonist for the New York newspaper PM and drew over 400 political cartoons. Here are two. More can be found in the book Dr. Seuss Goes to War by historian Richard H. Minear (New Press 1999).
What’s familiar to you?
What’s Geisel’s message?
May 22, 1941

12. Political Cartoons Present Day
All cartoons are from
Cagle.com
inToon.com

20. And now…satire and the onion
A taste of the smelliness

21. The onion
The Onion is an American digital media company and news satire organization. It comments on both real and imaginary current events, parodying and satirizing politics, religion, and social trends
It frequently uses the ‘mock heroic’ style, presenting seemingly boring topics as captivating and entirely newsworthy

22. Sample
Take a look at this article
What is the author’s message/purpose?
What does the satire reveal about feminism versus popular culture?

23. Why it matters in the long run: the French equivalent
Charlie Hebdo
Remember “Je suis Charlie?”
There can be dire consequences when satire is misinterpreted or taken offensively.
All the more reason to figure out how to appreciate and share it with others

24. Why it matters for you right now
Onion articles show up on the exam. No joke.
And you’ll be responding to such a prompt in the very near future…