A Brief History of Political Cartoons

 

Above 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

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 and Great Britain, 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.

Above Resources from Wikipedia