Reanna's Reports: EOTO #1: History of Political Cartooning

Political cartoons have been around for centuries, and are used as a form of artistic expression in politics. According to Brittanica, political cartoons have been identified as drawings made to convey editorial commentary on politics, politicians, and current events. There are five key components to check off when creating a political cartoon: symbols, exaggeration, irony, labeling, and analogy.

Political cartoons got their start in 1720 with the collapse of the South Sea Company. With every significant historical event that followed, a political cartoon would follow as well and they still do today, centuries later. Some older cartoons have even been modernized or revamped to revisit certain events.

Benjamin Franklin, The Pennsylvania Gazette, 1754

Matt Davies, Newsday 2023

The significance behind Benjamin Franklin's original cartoon falls into two parts: the main idea, identifying the five key elements. The main idea of this cartoon was to promote the union of the American colonies at the beginning of the French and Indian War. The cartoon appeared a number of times as a means of convincing the colonies to join each other or, as it says...die. As for the key elements, the usage of a snake could have possibly symbolized regeneration, because snakes shed their skins. There was also a legend that stated if a snake was cut into pieces and reassembled before sunset, it could come back to life. The snake was cut into eight pieces in the cartoon to represent the eight colonies. The cartoon was first featured in an editorial written by Franklin for the Pennsylvania Gazette on May 9th, 1754.

The cartoon created by Matt Davies bears a striking similarity to that of Franklin's, and that's because the two are directly linked to each other. The first thing you'll notice is the snake. The snake is not at all cut apart and remains in one piece, but has its tail in its mouth. Upon further analysis of the wording used in this cartoon, there is an apparent history of the use of the phrase, "Don't tread on me" in politics, and it is considered highly controversial. The phrase, "Don't tread on me" is an expression of American patriotism and individualism. Those who choose to use this phrase are supposedly reaching for freedom without overarching government rule. The cartoon stems from a yellow flag sporting a snake with its tail in its mouth, more often referred to as the Gadsden flag. While America was considering a revolution from Great Britain, Franklin created his cartoon of the colonies as severed pieces of a snake. The Gadsden flag, created by Colonel Christopher Gadsden, was said to be directly based on the "Join or Die" cartoon, with the intention of spreading vigilance. The Gadsden flag is now a largely recognized symbol of the Revolutionary War. Those supporting the flag currently believe that it represents courage and holds historic value. Those who dislike the flag believe that it represents racial discrimination and harassment because Gadsden was a known slave owner and trader.

Aside from Benjamin Franklin, other popular political cartoonists from the 1700s to the 1900s include William Hogarth, George Townshend, Thomas Nast, James Gillary, George Cruikshank, John Tenniel, and Rube Goldberg.

The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, or the AAEC, is a group of political cartoonist members who aim to protect the right to keep creating political cartoons. They claim that political cartoons are crucial as a form of expression.

The cartoon below has a lot to unpack. It was created by Matt Wuerker in 2016, and published in the online magazine, Politico. The message is clear: journalism acts as the dam for a constant overflow of propaganda, fake news, and the overall release of false information into public news outlets. The pipes spewing garbage into the water are labeled, "fake news", "propaganda", "rumors", "malarkey", "conspiracy theories", and "disinformation". It's easy to interpret that those six things are contaminating the news being presented to the public. With so much contamination in the news as of late, it is getting increasingly difficult today to filter out what's fake. A journalist's job is to find the facts, get rid of the fake news, and ultimately give the people the truth and nothing but the truth.