POLITICAL CARTOON
Analyzing political cartoons of the Civil War
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~library/Library_Bulletin/Apr1997/Wait.html
Another good source: http://www.arthist.umn.edu/aict/tennielweb/splash.html
Political cartoons are a visual commentary on current events and issues, either negative or positive.
You will locate a Civil War cartoon from the perspective of the north or the south.
For the North: slavery? Dred Scott decision? the strength of the North? the wisdom of Lincoln? the success of the Anaconda plan?
For the South: the greed of the North? the ineffective generals of the North? John Brown, the radical? the strength of the South? the effectiveness of General Lee?
Your cartoons could also be about the war in general: hospital conditions, prison conditions, desertions, battleground conditions...
When you display your cartoon, you must also analyze it.
Write about some of the following:
1. Caricature: Do exaggerated character features help make a point or to focus on an idea about the character?
2. Symbols: Do symbols help get the point across? e.g. a confederate flag to represent the Southern soldiers.
3. Labels: Do Labels of people or objects make their identities clear to the readers?
What do they say? What do they mean?
4. Titles/Captions: Sometimes the cartoonist gives the cartoon a title; or sometimes the captions are words spoken by the characters. You can explain the caption in your own words.
Here are possible questions to ask about your political cartoon:
1. Is it from the perspective of a southerner or a northerner?
2. Who are the characters in the cartoon? Why are certain features of the characters exaggerated?
3. What do the symbols stand for?
4. What is the caption?
5. Explain the topic or message of the cartoon.
