Which of the following best describes the message in the political cartoon? apush

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Nast, The Union As It Was

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Key points

• Political cartoons are an essential source for the visual language of a particular historical moment. Because of their contextual specificity, they can be difficult to understand by viewers who didn’t live during that time or in that cultural context, but through comparison with other sources, political cartoons can yield rich understanding of beliefs, perspectives, and issues of the day. 
• Thomas Nast’s 1874 cartoon was published in Harper’s Weekly magazine, a northern publication that was politically aligned with Abraham Lincoln and the northern Republican party during the Civil War and throughout Reconstruction. The image promotes support for the Republican party by condemning Democrats. Details in the cartoon link Democrats with the conspiracies among white-led organizations to use violence and intimidation to disenfranchise and suppress formerly enslaved African Americans during Reconstruction. 
• Visual precedents for this image reinforced the power of its symbolism; notably, the motif of figures shaking hands above a shield was widely understood at the time to reflect national unity.

Go deeper

Why Reconstruction Matters by Eric Foner, The New York Times, March 28, 2015

Life After Slavery for African Americans (Khan Academy)

Black Officeholders in the South (specifically during Reconstruction), Facing History and Ourselves

Presidents, Politics, and the Pen: The Influential Art of Thomas Nast (Virtual Exhibition created by the Norman Rockwell Museum in 2016, hosted by Google Arts and Culture)

Make Good the Promises: Reclaiming Reconstruction and Its Legacies, edited by Kinshasha Holman Conwill and Paul Gardullo, 2021 (exhibition catalog from Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture)

150 Years and Counting: The Struggle to Secure the Promise of the 15th Amendment (Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture)

Capitan Hannibal C. Carter: Businessman, Civil War Officer, Reconstruction Politician, Freedom Fighter (blog post by Museum Specialist of Oral History, Kelly P Navies, at Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture)

More to think about

Why do you think political cartoons like Nast’s are effective? What images do you see today that critique politics most effectively and why?

Research project ideas

• Explore a selection of political cartoons from the period of Reconstruction or from a range of time periods you have studied (be sure you feel comfortable with the historical context so you understand the issues being addressed in each cartoon). Focus your exploration on defining the way political cartoons serve as a particular kind of visual source. The following prompts may help shape your research.
  • Consider how political cartoonists use particular visual strategies to offer pointed opinions on specific topics and for specific audiences. 
  • Try to answer the question, “What can political cartoons tell us about the time they were created that we cannot learn from other types of sources?”
  • Consider how viewers judge or identify the bias of a political cartoon, by answering the question “what makes a cartoon successful?” Note: there is research that suggests that satire can sometimes backfire, being read as positive by the very people it strives to critique. For this line of inquiry, see if you can find any present examples of such unintended consequences in political cartoons—and consider what lessons they might provide for political cartoonists today.
  • In light of more recent events (e.g. Charlie Hebdo cartoons), we are familiar with debates about the line between satire and slander. How have political cartoonists navigated this line?

A careful analysis of political cartoons can provide a glimpse into key moments of U.S. political history. In this activity, students will closely examine political cartoons about the Stamp Act; make inferences about the political, social, and economic situations depicted therein; and offer informed speculations concerning each creator’s point of view.

Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Analyze political cartoons.
• Identify the ways in which point of view can be detected in political cartoons.

Time Required

Two 50-minute class periods

Lesson Preparation

Materials

• A current political cartoon about a familiar topic. Options for display:
  • Print out one copy of the cartoon for each student
  • Prepare an overhead transparency of the cartoon
  • Display the cartoon using a computer and LCD projector
  • Whiteboard, chalkboard, overhead or chart paper
• Primary Source Analysis Tool (PDF, 79 KB) (print two copies per student)
• “The repeal, or the funeral of Miss Ame=Stamp” (PDF, 863 KB) (print one copy per student)
• “The repeal, or the funeral of Miss Ame=Stamp”, Large Tiled Image (PDF, 4.91 MB) (optional; print one copy to display in the classroom)

The following materials are used during extension activities:

• “Magna Britannia” (PDF, 323 KB) (print one copy per student)

Resources

Before leading students through the exploration process, teachers should make themselves familiar with the following Library of Congress resources:

• Mock Funeral Procession for the Stamp Act
• Timeline: Events Related to the Formation of the United States
• Teacher's Guide for Analyzing Political Cartoons

Additional Resources

• Benjamin Franklin…In His Own Words
• John Bull and Uncle Sam: The American Revolution

Lesson Procedure

Activity One (One Class Period)

1. Begin class with a discussion about political cartoons, based around the following questions and possible responses:
   • What is a political cartoon?
     A political cartoon is a cartoon that makes a point about a political issue or event.
   • What topics do political cartoons address?
     Could include economics, politics, social issues/events, prominent individuals.
   • How can you tell what the message of the political cartoon is?
     By observing and analyzing the images and text.
   • What is a thesis?
     A main idea put forward for discussion, such as in a paragraph, an essay, or a cartoon.
   • What is point of view?
     A person’s belief or judgment on an issue.
   • How might point of view affect a political cartoonist?
     A cartoonist will be guided by his or her point of view. Cartoonists might only express their own beliefs on an issue, or they might take the point of view of others into consideration.
2. Introduce the concept of primary source analysis to the students. Distribute the Primary Source Analysis Tool (PDF 79 KB) to each student and explain that they will use this handout to analyze a political cartoon. Tell them that the key to primary source analysis isn’t finding the correct answer, but asking the most effective questions.

   Before the students begin, select questions from the teacher’s guide Analyzing Political Cartoons to focus and prompt analysis and discussion. Distribute or display a recent political cartoon on an issue of current interest. Model for students the process of inquiry-based primary source analysis using questions from each column as a guide. Students should record the responses on their individual handout.

   Lead students through a discussion of the point of view expressed in this cartoon.

3. Have students create a political cartoon that communicates a different point of view than the one they analyzed.

Activity Two (One Class Period)

1. Have students pair up and share the political cartoons they created. Remind students of the primary source analysis process they went through previously, and ask them to discuss each other’s cartoons for five minutes. Distribute the Primary Source Analysis Tool handout, and ask students to discuss each other’s cartoons.
2. Explain to students that they will be analyzing a historical political cartoon and thinking about the political cartoonist’s point of view. Distribute “The repeal, or the funeral of Miss Ame=Stamp” (PDF, 863 KB) to each student, along with the Primary Source Analysis Tool (PDF, 79 KB). Have students perform a primary source analysis on the cartoon, recording their responses on their individual copies of the handout. Ask students to evaluate the cartoon to examine the cartoonist’s point of view. If students need prompting use questions selected from the teacher's guide Analyzing Political Cartoons to focus and prompt analysis and discussion.

   Note: If you feel students need additional information on the Stamp Act, you might review the relevant material in this Library of Congress exhibition, John Bull and Uncle Sam: Four Centuries of British-American Relations.

3. Discuss the two handouts once students complete them, or after collecting them, evaluating them, and returning them to students.

Extension

• Have students analyze another political cartoon about the Stamp Act, “Magna Britannia” (PDF, 323 KB) by Benjamin Franklin. Have students complete the Primary Source Analysis Tool (PDF/79KB), and then discuss the differences between “Magna Britannia” (PDF, 323 KB) and “The repeal, or the funeral of Miss Ame=Stamp.” (PDF, 863 KB). Before the students begin, select questions from the teacher’s guide Analyzing Political Cartoons to focus and prompt analysis and discussion.
• The Stamp Act was not the only legislation imposed on the American colonists by the British government. Have students explore the exhibition John Bull & Uncle Sam: Four Centuries of British-American Relations to locate another political cartoon that addresses the legislation from the perspective of the colonists. Analyze this new cartoon with the Primary Source Analysis Tool (PDF, 79 KB) . Before the students begin, select questions from the teacher’s guide Analyzing Political Cartoons to focus and prompt analysis and discussion.
• Using one of the following Library of Congress collections and exhibitions, have students locate a political cartoon that deals with an aspect of history that they are familiar with and analyze it using the Primary Source Analysis Tool (PDF, 79 KB)
  • Cartoon America
  • Humor's Edge
  • Cartoon Cornucopia
  • Edmund Valtman: The Cartoonist Who Came in From the Cold
  • Bill Mauldin Beyond Willie and Joe

Lesson Evaluation

• Assess student-drawn political cartoons for evidence of student understanding of the ways in which point of view can affect how a political cartoon is created.
• Assess the primary source analysis tool for evidence of student understanding of how to analyze political cartoons.
• Teacher observation of critical thinking.

Credits

Terri Bramhall

Part of

• Primary Source Sets
• Lesson Plans
• Presentations

Additional Navigation

• Teachers Home

  The Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library's vast digital collections in their teaching.

• Analysis Tool & Guide

  To help your students analyze these primary sources, get a graphic organizer and guides.