Our philosophy: The Social Justice League or S.J.L., is an idea brought about by two Graduate Students at Montclair State University that focuses on the ideas of social justice and interdisciplinary learning within and beyond NJ's public schools. Combined with the efforts of local educators and communtiy leaders in New Jersey, the S.J.L. hopes to show the benefits of interdisciplinary learning as well as promote the idea of social justice. We believe that every human being, has a voice - a voice that needs to be heard in some way, shape, or form. We encourage students to question and think critically not only within the classroom, but throughout the course of their lives. Our current project revolves around the creation of Political Cartoons.

 Political Cartoons

Although relatively new in relation to other art forms, political cartoons have a long, often controversial history, especially in America. These political cartoons or illustrations, express a political or social message. Political cartoons are usually composed of two elements: a cartoon or caricature, which parodies a particular individual or a group of people, and allusion, which creates the situation or context into which the individual is placed.

 When you look at a political cartoon you must consider the context in which it was created. That means that each cartoon was created in a specific time period, pertaining to a specific event or idea. You may need some background information before you can start to decode the message the cartoonist is attempting to get across to the viewer.

Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s most famous fore-fathers, created a number of political cartoons which expressed his political ideas and beliefs. One of his most famous cartoons is Join or Die from 1754, which supported the French and Indian War. The image was later reused for the Revolutionary War. The cartoon Join or Die was published along with Franklin's editorial about the "disunited state" of the colonies, and helped make his point about the importance of colonial unity. In the cartoon, Franklin used the snake as a symbol for the colonies. In today’s world, political cartoonists use symbols as well. The United States is often represented by our national emblem, the Bald Eagle, or by a picture of Uncle Sam. Other symbols are also used when referring to Republicans or Democrats: the elephant representing Republicans and the donkey representing Democrats.

There is a degree of artistic talent involved in creating a political cartoon, however the most important aspect is the message that the creator intends to get across to the reader. 

The image shown above, entitled Gargantua (1831), is by artist Honore Daumier. In this drawing, Daumier shows King Louis Philippe as a large monster, seated on a toilet, with an insatiable appetite – devouring baskets full of gold which are brought to his mouth by a large crowd of people. King Philippe, the gargantuan, goes to the bathroom; expelling “letters of nomination and appointment to special government positions and court honors.” In this political cartoon, Daumier’s intent was to criticize a government that imposed taxes not to improve the lives of ordinary people (represented by the large crowd of people), but only to benefit the government by giving special honors to tax collectors and other deplorable people.

Shown below is a more recent political cartoon (2006) which centers around the controversial topic of Illegal Immigrants and the border-fence. Notice how the drawing concentrates mainly on the message. Keep your drawings as simple as possible; trying not to overburden the viewer with visual information. 

 As in the example above, cartoonists sometimes use words or captions to help convey the message. For more information and tips about how to decode poltical cartoons: visit this website

Political cartoons are extremely effective in that they take the spirit of a subject or idea and condense it into a single, influential image. These images usually have lasting effects on the viewer. Now that you have an idea of what political cartoons are, try creating your own characters! Visit the Cartooning 101 link for cartooning tutorials.