Blog - Political Cartoons, the first Art of War

2008-08-13 22:00:02

The art of the political cartoon has been around for centuries. These illustrations have satired everything from fat cat political bullies to Miss America but their effect on society cannot be ignored. A quick and funny image representing the ridiculousness of a situation or character is often the perfect weapon during war time for either side, it tends to leave an impression and was especially effective in the days before TV. Here's some history from Wikipedia.
History of political cartoons
Beginning in the 1720s, William Hogarth produced many satirical works which were widely circulated. Benjamin Franklin's Join or Die (1754) supported the French and Indian War and was later recycled for the Revolutionary War . In 1799, Francisco Goya created a series of etchings called los Caprichos intended to make political statements about the issues of the day,
related to his later series depicting the disasters of war. Both made
humorous comment on the trends and current events of his time. Political cartoons were common during World War I and World War II, mainly as propaganda for various countries' war efforts. In the US, Great Britain, and
Canada, anti-Japanese and -German works were common, while in those
countries, the opposite was so. At this time there were also some pacifists in various countries who produced political cartoons. In the United States, during and since the Vietnam war , many political cartoonists were published in underground newspapers , comic books, pamphlets, and zines .
Over the years, some common metaphors and symbols have been
repeatedly used by many different cartoonists. Examples include the use
of Uncle Sam to represent the United States, John Bull, Britannia or a lion to represent the United Kingdom, a beaver to represent
Canada, a bear to represent Russia, a dragon to represent China, and so
forth. Some symbols have become entrenched in modern culture, such as a
"capitalist" being represented in a top hat, which can still be seen on modern Monopoly games .
Politicians are sometimes not able to separate themselves from the
characters cartoonists create, especially if many cartoonists use
similar elements. Richard Nixon and Joe Clark are prime examples of this phenomenon.





Join, or Die by Benjamin Franklin was originally written for the French and Indian War on the Pennsylvania Gazette, but was later recycled during the Revolutionary War and Civil War






And check out some interesting contemporary political cartoons from Cagle.com.
Or Cox and Forkum.


click here to read the whole story