How to Find a Political Cartoon
Political cartoons provide readers with a little snapshot about the political culture during a given era. What makes political cartoons unique, according to Truman State University, is that the cartoons are part editorial (in that the artist is expressing an opinion about a political or socially relevant issue, such as health care reform) and part "artistic social commentary" (in that the opinion is expressed heavily by pictures). These cartoons vary depending on the hot political issues of the time as well as on the people and parties involved. Search for political cartoons by date and by issue.
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Instructions
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1
Flesh out the basis of your political cartoon search. You need to determine which specific issue the political cartoon you are looking for focuses on and which year the cartoon came out. Estimate the year if necessary. Think about which publication the cartoon appeared in (if you know).
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2
Visit your local library and ask whether the library has a political cartoon archive. Ask the librarian to help you find the political cartoon by telling her the information you listed in Step 1. For example, if you wanted to find a political cartoon about health care reform issues from the 1960s, you can tell the librarian what you are looking for and she will help you find it.
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3
Log on to the internet and search for your political cartoons in an internet-based political cartoon database (see Resources). You can also go to a search engine and type in search terms such as "political cartoon" or "health care reform political cartoons."
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Scan through the entrees in the books (from the library) or the links (from the internet sources) until you locate the cartoon you are looking for. Refine your search terms as necessary. Repeat the process until you find the political cartoon you need.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit polite signs image by drx from Fotolia.com
