| David Thorn Early Formulations of American Identity, Ideals, and Ideas Political Satire: The Influence of Humor A cartoon is a drawing, representation or symbol that makes a satirical, witty, or humorous point. Some may have captions, and some may not. Some may appear in one panel, while others may fill several panels [4]. Though cartoons may vary greatly from one to the other, the one common factor is humor. Political cartoons have their own particular style of humor however, and this style is based on a certain blending of serious topics and humor. The origin of political cartoons is believed to date back to the 16th century, and from that time on, political satire has been used as an effective means of criticizing the establishment. The political cartoon is directed at the common person, the masses of people who can make or break a political idea, and it is as effective today at stirring, and directing public opinion, as it was back in 16th century Europe. The foundation for political satire can be traced back to several different factors that created the concept, and the means of delivery. Caricature is one of the main arts used in political cartoons, and it is described as “a parody of an individual, and allusion, which creates the situation or context into which the individual is placed.” Leonardo da Vinci is credited with inventing the caricature, and he did so when he investigated “the ideal type of deformity, the grotesque”, which he used to gain a better understanding of the concept of ideal beauty [5]. The principles utilized by Leonardo da Vinci, are the foundation used by artists creating caricatures even today. The next foundation block was the invention of printing. Printing allowed for large numbers of copies to be circulated, reaching into the hands of large numbers of people, and putting the message out to the general public. In the 15th century, a painter-satirist, named Pieter Bruegel the Elder, was becoming increasingly popular with his grotesque paintings of strange inventions and abstract symbolism. By the 16th century, Bruegel’s style had fueled the imagination of Martin Luther, who was leading a theological debate over Reformation against Pope Alexander VI at the time [4]. In Germany, a merchant class had risen up to occupy key leadership positions within the villages and towns. Martin Luther knew that these people would be supportive of his reforms, and also that these individuals would be economically stable enough to stand up to the all-powerful Catholic Church. By winning the support of these people, Martin Luther was sure he could gain the support of the peasant masses, and through sheer numbers overwhelm the Catholic Church. Martin Luther was aware of the fact that the majority of the public could not read, so he used pictures to send out his message. Martin Luther handed out simple one page posters, and illustrated booklets in all of the major towns and villages, and in these prints he showed depictions of Biblical scenes that everyone could immediately recognize, and then next to it he would print the same picture, but with Caricatures of members of the Catholic Church in the positions of the antagonist [5]. This was the birth of the political cartoon, and it proved to be very effective. After the success of Martin Luther, political cartoons became a common means of criticizing the hegemony in Europe. The quality and quantity of cartoons varied however, depending on where you were, and who was in power at the time, because openly criticizing the power elite could be very dangerous at times, but still the political cartoons continued to get their messages to the masses. It is not surprising then, that political cartoons would reach across to the colonies of the New World, where a political struggle was raging over the identity of America. [7] It was one of the founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, who is credited with creating, and printing the first political cartoon in America. Franklin was attempting to rally support for his plan for an inter-colonial association, in order to deal with the Iraquois Indians at the Albany Congress of 1754. Franklin’s cartoon depicts a snake, cut into pieces, with each piece representing one of the colonies. The cartoon was published in every newspaper in America, and had a major impact on the American conscience. The words “Join, or Die” eluded to the Indian threat, but much of the effectiveness of this image was due to a commonly held belief at the time, that a dead snake could come back to life if the severed pieces were placed back together [5]. Franklin’s cartoon effectively grabbed the American peoples minds, and implanted an idea that endured even though the Albany Congress turned out to be a failure. The image of the snake became the symbol for colonial unification, and was transferred to the colonial battle flag “Don’t Tread on Me”, and became part of the American spirit [5]. Much like the situation in 16th century Europe, the colonies proved to be a great venue for the political cartoon. The strength of the governmental policies relied on support from the masses of the common people, and among this population the illiteracy rate was quite high. As different factions fought to sway public opinion, the political cartoon became even more important and refined in its delivery of the message. By now the political cartoon had established itself as an effective means of communicating a specific message to the general public, and cartoons now appeared in every major newspaper in America, but political cartoons are not really at their peak unless there is a great controversy, and the next big period for the political cartoon came as a result of several topics of heated debate, the election of President Andrew Jackson, the Mexican War, the issue of slavery, and the Civil War. It was the Civil War that inspired a man who is considered the greatest American political cartoonist. An artist by the name of Thomas Nast, was working for a publication called the Leslie’s Weekly, and he became nationally recognized for his cartoons defending President Lincoln’s policies [4]. The style and degree of his artistry took the political cartoon to new heights, but there were also a couple of other contributing factors that helped increase the effectiveness of the cartoons. By 1850 the literacy rate among Northern whites had risen to 89 percent, and this factor meant that the textual content of the cartoon could now be used to support and further bolster the overall criticism of the topic. Also, about this same time, the technology of printing had made many improvements, and inventions like the steam press allowed huge quantities of printings to be created for distribution across America. The increase in printing technologies led to an increase in publications, and by 1860 the number of active publications in America had risen to approximately 3,300 [4]. These advances in the printing field allowed Thomas Nast’s work to be seen by a larger audience then ever before, and it had allowed him to have much more influence with the American public. President Lincoln is often quoted as saying Nast was his best recruiting sergeant, and his scenes of once-thriving southern cities like Richmond did much to convey the magnitude of destruction to Northern audiences [5]. Though Thomas Nast is credited with greatly influencing the American public during the Civil War, He is most remembered for his cartoon attack against political corruption in New York City. Nast created political cartoons in the 1870’s that exposed the corruption of Boss Tweed and New York’s corrupt Tammany Hall political machine. One of the cartoons printed by Nast, showed Tweed and the Tammany Hall Ring pointing at each other in answer to the question, “who stole the people’s money?” After this cartoon appeared, Tweed supposedly made the statement, “Stop them damned pictures. I don’t care what the papers write about me. My constituents can’t read. But damn it, they can see pictures.” [6] During his successful career, Thomas Nast was able to influence both the public and the political culture of America, and some of his influence is seen even in today’s society. Thomas Nast is the creator of the Republican Elephant, the Democratic Donkey, and is responsible for the image of Santa Clause, as the jolly, round, red-nosed character that we all accept as the true image of Santa Clause today [1]. Nast had become so influential in American society, that the public could not get enough of political cartoons. After his retirement, two fellow political cartoonists attempted to carry on the ideals of the political cartoon, and due to the great popularity political cartoons had gained, they created a publication named “Puck”, which was a colored comic book that featured only political cartoons. The founders, Joseph Keppler and Bernhard Gillam provided the artwork. The cartoons in Puck, leaned heavily towards the Democratic point of view, so soon after its inception, a rival comic book was started by the name of Judge. Judge was established to provide a Republican point of view to the public, and Bernhard Gillam provided the political cartoons for this publication as well. Many experts agree that Gillam’s political cartoons were very instrumental in swaying public opinion, which led to the election of Grover Cleveland as president, and helped the Democratic Party gain control. Gillam accomplished this feat by running hard-hitting cartoons in Puck, and then using Judge as a forum to criticize both parties [5]. By this time in history, printing technologies had advanced to the point that reproduction was a simple matter, and with this advancement came the daily newspapers. Political cartoons were regular features in all of the daily newspapers of the time, and the influence of the political cartoon continued to grow. As stated previously, issues of great controversy are the breeding ground for political cartoons, and the World Wars provided great material for political cartoonist of the age. Political cartoons during the War periods reached a fevered pitch as cartoonist from every country around the world expressed their opinions, and criticized government policies. Political cartoons were used as a form of propaganda, and quickly became a widely used tool by everyone involved, making every flat surface a venue for the political cartoon. Posters were pasted on poles, buildings, and signs. Window displays were created utilizing the political cartoons, and leaflets, banners and every other imaginable outlet was utilized to get the political cartoons in front of the public. The power of the political cartoon to influence the public was well known by the hegemony of the time, and they attempted to use it to their best advantage. By the end of the War Era, political cartoons had evolved in artistry and sophistication to match the ever-increasing education of the common person in society. Every publication now printed political cartoons in every issue, and it was a regular part of the American culture. Even in today’s society, you need only to open a newspaper to find what the most pressing issue of the day is in America, and you will find it in the form of a political cartoon. Now that the history of political cartoons has been addressed, and the evidence of their influence examined, now the question is “why are political cartoons so effective?” The purpose of political cartoons is to make people think about current events and issues about politics and government. Basically, six different artistic techniques are used to achieve the desired result, and they are: symbolism, caricature, captions and labels, exaggeration, satire, and irony. A famous linguist by the name of Ferdinand de Saussure, expressed the opinion that the answer is in the study of signs, and he emphasized the importance of studying the whole picture, and the groupings of signs, when analyzing a picture. Saussure felt that the meaning and significance was derived from the interaction of all of the signs in a picture. It is the contrast of images that is significant [2]. Political cartoons exemplify this theory in their structure. Often a person is utilized to represent an entire country, and placement within the picture usually is significant in expressing relationships between things. When a person is characterized as himself, this usually indicates a view of that person’s policies. It is these subtle blending of images that are believed to affect the sub-conscience mind of the reader. Researcher Mark Turner, in his text entitled The Literary Mind, argues that complex metaphorical and blending patterns, like those found in political cartoons, is fundamental to the way humans think and reason. Turner feels that almost no thought or reason can be accomplished without these processes [3]. If Turner’s theory is true, it would explain why a political cartoon can so effectively convey a message about a complex issue, and why it elicits such a response. Whatever the reason, it is apparent that human nature and political cartoons somehow have a connection, and because of this connection, an image is capable of communicating complex messages, and influence a person’s thought and reason. History is full of examples of political cartoons and their influence on the American culture. From Benjamin Franklin’s “Join or Die”, to Thomas Nast and his depictions of the political parties Elephant and Donkey, cartoons have impacted the way people thought about an issue, and the influence has endured through the years in many cases. Political cartoons are as popular today as they always have been, and are still a standard in most modern publications. Humor is something that transcends all social classes, and is not hindered by a lack of education. It can even cross language barriers and project worldviews that are recognized by anyone who see them. What other concept has the ability to do this? The simple cartoon therefore, is arguably one of the most influential factors in the development of the American identity. The following are a sample of different political cartoons that have appeared in American publications over the years of this countries identity formation. As you will see, the artist may not always have been correct in his points, but the images successfully raised issues in the minds of the American public, thus influencing further action by the population. [8] [9] Bibliography [1] Low, David and Williams, R.E. Political Cartoon, The American Presidency. Grolier. 2000. [2] Saussure, Ferdinand de. Course in General Linguistics. London, Duckworth. 1983 [3] Turner, Mark. The Literary Mind. Oxford University Press, New York. 1996 [4] Grolier. The American Presidency. Political Cartoon. Low, David and Williams, R.E. <http://gi.grolier.com/presidents/ea/side/cartoon.html> [5] American Studies, University of Virginia. A Brief History of Political Cartoons. <http://Xroads.Virginia.edu/~MA96/PUCK/part1.html> [6] BoondocksNet.com, Political Cartoons of Thomas Nast. Zwick, Jim. <www.boondocksnet.com/gallery/nast_intro.html> [7] Archiving Early America. <http://earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/first/cartoon/snake.html> [8] Archiving Early America. <http://earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/first/cartoon/columns.html> [9] HarpWeek.An Heir To The Throne, or The Next Republican Candidate. 1860 <http://loc.harpweek.com/LCPoliticalcartoons/displaymedium.ask?MaxID=44& UniqueID=12&Year=1860&YearMark=1860> |