Political Cartoons

In class, we have often seen political cartoons criticizing various aspects of political policy. Behind many of these cartoons was a man by the name of Thomas Nast. Nast's most famous series of political cartoons had to do with Boss William Tweed of Tammany Hall. These included both the cartoon of Boss Tweed with a head made of money, criticizing his dubious ways of making profit, and one depicting Boss Tweed as the real thief of people's money.



Perhaps the most cartooned presidents of the turn of the century were William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Cartoons of McKinley often focused on depicting him as an imperialist despot. This was due to his involvement of the U.S. in the Spanish-American war, and the subsequent occupation of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and the semi-protectorate status of Cuba. Cartoonists compared McKinley to Napoleon Bonaparte and Julius Caesar, has he stomped down the suffering natives of the Philippines. Cartoonists also criticized McKinley over Alonzo Hanna's support of him, and their lack of opposition to the trusts.


Theodore Roosevelt was another president who was heavily cartooned. Most notably, the "big stick" was prominently portrayed in almost every cartoon of Roosevelt. It was seen as a symbol of Roosevelt's authoritarianism. Roosevelt was also easily identifiable for his spectacles and cavalry uniform in some cartoons, a nod to his days in the cavalry during the Spanish-American war. Roosevelt was often portrayed as reckless and individualistic in cartoons, which was probably quite accurate. His strong actions as president and his use of executive actions would have spurred this response from the public, and is evidenced by these cartoons. We can use these cartoons to study history and the ways in which contemporaries honestly felt about politicians and what their weak points where, leading us to better understand the reasons for their declines in public life.