Political Cartoons

Florida Gubernatorial Election 2014

The Purpose of Political Cartoons    Cartoonist is giving his/her opinion on a political or other newsworthy issue in a (usually) humorous pictorial fashion. Viewer is expected to have previous content knowledge to understand the meaning of the cartoon.

Found in newspaper editorial pages and online   www.cagle.com

www.politicalcartoons.com

“Join, or Die” by Benjamin Franklin To encourage the colonies to unite during the French and Indian War.

Parts of Political Cartoons



Caricature:

 a portrait that exaggerates parts of a person (ears, height, etc.)  creates an easily identifiable visual likeness  usually funny

Parts of Political Cartoons

  Symbol: something -- such as an object, picture, written word, or sound- that represents (or stands for) something else.

For example  a red octagon is the symbol that means "STOP".  Uncle Sam & Lady Liberty symbolizes the USA

Symbols of Political Parties

   The

Democratic donkey

was first used with Democrat Andrew Jackson's 1828 presidential campaign. His opponents called him a jackass (a donkey), and Jackson decided to use the image of the strong-willed animal on his campaign posters. Later, cartoonist Thomas Nast used the Democratic donkey in newspaper cartoons and made the symbol famous.

   Nast invented another famous symbol—the

Republican elephant .

After the Republicans lost the White House to the Democrats in 1877, Nast drew a cartoon of an elephant walking into a trap set by a donkey.

He chose the elephant to represent the Republicans because elephants are intelligent but easily controlled.

Democrats today say the donkey is smart and brave, while Republicans say the elephant is strong and dignified.

Symbols & Labels of Political Parties Democrats Donkey Blue Left Liberal Dems D Republicans Elephant Red Right Conservative GOP R

 For the next cartoon, describe    Symbols and meanings Important terms and meaning What is the message of the cartoon?

 For the next cartoon, describe   Symbols and meanings Important terms and meaning  What is the message of the cartoon?