"XVth Amendment"

Caption: XVth Amendment. -“Shoo Fly, don’t Bodder me!”

In the mind of the cartoonWhat could the

voter be thinking?

What could the voter be

thinking?

Extra credit: Why didn’t California

ratify the 15th amendment?

Why didn’t New York ratify the

15th amendment?

"Waiting"

Caption: Waiting. A debt that the Republican party ought to wipe out

“The ‘Bloody Shirt’ Reformed”

Caption: Declaration of Equality-Justice. “Five More wanted

Self Portrait

Which one would you want coming down your chimney?

http://robertariail.com/

Editorial Cartoons

Editorial cartoons are satires or graphic commentaries about government decisions, public figures, and current events.

Viewers must have special information to understand their meanings.

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Understanding their meanings

Viewers must understand certain symbols used by cartoonists.

They must have knowledge about the current events depicted in the cartoon.

They must be able to analyze the cartoon.

The National Archives suggests using political cartoons only at the ends of your units of study.

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Selecting a cartoon

Questions to ask yourself to select a cartoon:What would students need to know or find out in

order to understand this cartoon?Does the cartoon suit the issue we are studying or

does it require too much explanation to be worth studying at this time?

Should a brief background history of the cartoon be given to students before or after studying the cartoon?

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Teaching with Editorial Cartoons

Each editorial cartoon has a title and sometimes a caption that give a clue about the cartoon’s meaning.

Symbols are used that the artist assumes the audience will understand. (e.g. donkey, Uncle Sam, American flag, Statue of Liberty, ball and chain, etc.)

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Teaching with Editorial Cartoons

Some have characters who make comments in the cartoon.

Some characters or objects have labels that help the reader understand the message.

Cartoons uses persuasion, the cartoonist always has a point of view

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Teaching with Editorial Cartoons

People in the editorial cartoon may be caricatures with exaggerated features. Why are they exaggerated?

Irony or satire may be obvious or subtle in political cartoons.

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Types of questions to use

Basic levelWhat is the cartoon’s caption or title? Identify the people and objects in the

cartoon.What phrases or words are used in the

cartoon?Who is the cartoonist?

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Types of questions to use

Intermediate level What symbols are used in the cartoon? What does each

symbol mean? What are the most important words or phrases in the

cartoon? Why are they important? Did the artist exaggerate any physical features of the

people in the cartoon? Explain those exaggerations. What is the main point of the cartoon? How did the artist

use persuasive techniques? What is the analogy in this cartoon? What two issues,

ideas, objects, or situations are being compared?

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Types of questions to use

Advanced levelWhat groups would agree with this cartoon?

What groups would disagree? Explain your answers.

What background information must one understand in order to interpret this cartoon?

What do you know about the artist’s political views from studying this cartoon?

How is irony or satire used in this cartoon?

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General Analysis Strategies These suggestions can be used with any

political cartoon or comic strip. Students can: Draw a cartoon using the same characters but

portraying the opposite point of view. Add a few “sentence bubbles” with comments made

by the characters. Write a letter either agreeing or disagreeing with the

cartoon’s point of view. The letter should be written to the editor of the newspaper that printed this cartoon.

Write a different title for the cartoon and explain why they chose their new title.

Write a short background history for the cartoon explaining the events that led up to the event shown in the cartoon.

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General Analysis Strategies (cont.)

Compare and contrast several cartoons from different artists about the same subject. They will make a list of similarities and differences and explain which artist did the best job getting his point across.

Imagine how difficult it would be to create a cartoon on a daily basis that shows a special political point of view. They can write a letter to a cartoonist asking how it is possible to maintain creativity on a regular schedule.

Compare cartoons from several newspapers of the same date to determine what social or political issue gained the most attention on that date. Do any of the newspapers use the same cartoonist? Do different cartoonists have different or similar points of view about the issue?

Draw a cartoon about a school issue for their school newspaper.

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