How Did Political Cartoons Influence World War 1

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Political cartoons’ influence on people during World War 1 Brieanna Wilson HIST 122: US History 1865-Present May 4, 2023 Through World War One and the years around it, political cartoons had a big effect on war politics, presidential elections, and the people involved in the war. Political cartoons during this time attacked Germans and supported American war efforts. Cartoons have been seen as simple and funny but over the years have metastasized to be political and even persuasive in foundation. These cartoons take a jab at political role models and try to deteriorate their influence on American politics and economics. American political cartoons go way back into the 1750s, when they first were introduced to America. They …show more content…

Political cartoons are important historical resources for students in classrooms. They portray many different topics and opinions, not just the opinions and topics white men want us to learn about. These cartoons had a major influence on the group of people who could understand the message that was being shared. Before cartoons you had to be able to read in order to understand, but with cartoons you only have to understand the picture being displayed. “As far back as 1871, “Boss” Tweed of the New York City Democratic machine is reported to have said, after seeing Thomas Nast’s stinging “Who Steal the People’s Money?” in Harper’s Weekly, “I don’t care so much what the papers say about me-my constituents can’t read; but damn it, they can see pictures!” Many African Americans during this time period could not read unless they taught themselves or were freed slaves who went to school. Cartoons were so effective mainly because you weren't required to be able to read in order to understand them, that's one reason why these cartoons had such a wide variety of audiences. The audience of political cartoons grew with each cartoon that was drawn. The skimmers were so committed to their cartoonist that some could tell the difference between their cartoonist and others. Some of the most important cartoonists include, “James Gillray, George Cruikshank, Thomas Rowlandson, Honoré Daumier, and Nast.” You will see their name in a lot of historically important cartoons as they showed what the public was thinking about the government and their

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