FreePrimarySources
Printables · 34 cartoons

Gallery Walks

Print-ready political cartoon stations. Each poster marks three parts (A, B and C) with space to write what students see. Every packet comes with a one-page student sheet and a teacher key.

6 packets · letter size · public domain

How to run it

  1. Print the posters (landscape) and tape one at each station around the room.
  2. Give each student the recording sheet. In small groups they rotate every 4-6 minutes, writing what they see in A, B and C.
  3. Debrief using the teacher key: what each part shows, the context, and the artist's point of view. Let students argue what each cartoon meant.
6 stations · 1754-1833

Founding & Early Republic

Sample poster page: Join, or Die with parts A, B and C marked

Colonial unity, the Stamp Act, the Intolerable Acts, the XYZ Affair, and Jackson's vetoes, drawn by British and American artists.

  1. 1. Join, or Die (1754, Benjamin Franklin)
  2. 2. The Repeal, or the Funeral of Miss Ame-Stamp (1766, Unidentified British artist (often attributed to Benjamin Wilson))
  3. 3. The Able Doctor, or America Swallowing the Bitter Draught (1774, Unidentified British artist)
  4. 4. The Bostonians Paying the Excise-Man, or Tarring & Feathering (1774, Attributed to Philip Dawe)
  5. 5. Property Protected à la Françoise (1798, Unidentified British artist)
  6. 6. King Andrew the First (1833, Unidentified American artist)
1754-1833Grades 6-8, 9-12Political cartoons⏱ 30-45 min
For teachers

Viewpoints in this packet

  • Join, or Die: Franklin was a Pennsylvania delegate pushing a plan for colonial union.
  • The Repeal, or the Funeral of Miss Ame-Stamp: Made for a British audience; many London merchants favored repeal because the act hurt trade with the colonies.
  • The Able Doctor, or America Swallowing the Bitter Draught: Published in London, where opinion on the colonial crisis was divided.
  • The Bostonians Paying the Excise-Man, or Tarring & Feathering: A British print; some read it as criticizing the crowd, others as reporting colonial anger.
  • Property Protected à la Françoise: British-made at a time when Britain and France were at war.
  • King Andrew the First: Made by Jackson's opponents (who soon formed the Whig Party); supporters saw his vetoes as defending ordinary people.
5 stations · 1863-1874

Civil War & Reconstruction

Sample poster page: The Emancipation of the Negroes, January 1863: The Past and the Future with parts A, B and C marked

Emancipation and the 1864 election from Union, Democratic and Confederate-sympathizing artists, plus Reconstruction violence.

  1. 1. The Emancipation of the Negroes, January 1863: The Past and the Future (1863, Thomas Nast)
  2. 2. Writing the Emancipation Proclamation (1864, Adalbert J. Volck)
  3. 3. Compromise with the South (1864, Thomas Nast)
  4. 4. Abraham's Dream! "Coming Events Cast Their Shadows Before" (1864, Currier & Ives)
  5. 5. The Union as It Was: The Lost Cause, Worse Than Slavery (1874, Thomas Nast)
1863-1874Grades 6-8, 9-12Political cartoons⏱ 30-45 min
For teachers

Viewpoints in this packet

  • The Emancipation of the Negroes, January 1863: The Past and the Future: Nast and Harper's Weekly strongly supported the Union and the Republican Party.
  • Writing the Emancipation Proclamation: Volck was a Baltimore dentist who sympathized with the Confederacy; he printed his etchings secretly.
  • Compromise with the South: Nast supported Lincoln's reelection. Democrats argued that a negotiated peace would save lives.
  • Abraham's Dream! "Coming Events Cast Their Shadows Before": Supports McClellan and the Democrats; Lincoln won the election that November.
  • The Union as It Was: The Lost Cause, Worse Than Slavery: Nast and Harper's Weekly supported federal enforcement of Reconstruction.
5 stations · 1871-1904

Gilded Age: Bosses, Trusts & Tariffs

Sample poster page: "Stop Thief!" with parts A, B and C marked

Tammany Hall, trusts, railroads and the tariff debate as seen by Harper's Weekly and Puck.

  1. 1. "Stop Thief!" (1871, Thomas Nast)
  2. 2. The Bosses of the Senate (1889, Joseph Keppler)
  3. 3. The Protectors of Our Industries (1883, Bernhard Gillam)
  4. 4. The Modern Colossus of (Rail) Roads (1879, Joseph Keppler)
  5. 5. Next! (1904, Udo J. Keppler)
1871-1904Grades 6-8, 9-12Political cartoons⏱ 30-45 min
For teachers

Viewpoints in this packet

  • "Stop Thief!": Harper's Weekly was a Republican paper; Tweed led the Democratic Tammany Hall machine.
  • The Bosses of the Senate: Puck generally leaned toward the Democratic Party and criticized high tariffs and trusts.
  • The Protectors of Our Industries: Puck opposed high tariffs. Republican magazines such as Judge argued tariffs helped workers.
  • The Modern Colossus of (Rail) Roads: Puck often criticized railroad owners; defenders pointed to the growth and lower travel costs railroads brought.
  • Next!: Critical of Standard Oil; the company argued its size made oil cheaper and more reliable.
6 stations · 1871-1908

Immigration & Exclusion

Sample poster page: The Chinese Question with parts A, B and C marked

Welcome, restriction and Chinese exclusion, 1871-1908.

  1. 1. The Chinese Question (1871, Thomas Nast)
  2. 2. Welcome to All! (1880, Joseph Keppler)
  3. 3. The Anti-Chinese Wall (1882, Friedrich Graetz)
  4. 4. The Only One Barred Out (1882, Unidentified artist)
  5. 5. Looking Backward (1893, Joseph Keppler)
  6. 6. In the Art Pen at Ellis Island (1908, Unidentified artist)
1871-1908Grades 6-8, 9-12Political cartoons⏱ 30-45 min
For teachers

Viewpoints in this packet

  • The Chinese Question: Nast opposed anti-Chinese laws; supporters of restriction argued Chinese labor lowered wages.
  • Welcome to All!: Keppler, himself an immigrant from Austria, generally favored open immigration.
  • The Anti-Chinese Wall: Puck opposed Chinese exclusion; supporters of the law argued it protected American workers.
  • The Only One Barred Out: Critical of the exclusion law.
  • Looking Backward: Critical of immigration restriction; supporters of limits argued new arrivals strained cities and wages.
  • In the Art Pen at Ellis Island: Critical of the art tariff.
6 stations · 1898-1899

Expansion & Empire, 1898-1899

Sample poster page: Well, I Hardly Know Which to Take First! with parts A, B and C marked

The 1898 war with Spain and the debate over the Philippines, with pro- and anti-expansion cartoons.

  1. 1. Well, I Hardly Know Which to Take First! (1898, Unidentified artist)
  2. 2. Ten Thousand Miles from Tip to Tip (1898, Unidentified artist)
  3. 3. Uncle Sam's Barber Shop (1898, Unidentified artist)
  4. 4. School Begins (1899, Louis Dalrymple)
  5. 5. "The White Man's Burden" (Apologies to Rudyard Kipling) (1899, Victor Gillam)
  6. 6. The Dream of the Anti-Expansionist (1899, Udo J. Keppler)
1898-1899Grades 9-12Political cartoons⏱ 30-45 min
For teachers

Viewpoints in this packet

  • Well, I Hardly Know Which to Take First!: Lighthearted; readers then and now differ on whether it approves of expansion.
  • Ten Thousand Miles from Tip to Tip: Celebrates expansion.
  • Uncle Sam's Barber Shop: Artist unidentified; viewpoint is open for students to judge.
  • School Begins: Scholars disagree whether Puck meant this to support or mock expansion; let students argue it.
  • "The White Man's Burden" (Apologies to Rudyard Kipling): Judge was a Republican magazine that supported expansion; anti-imperialists strongly rejected this view.
  • The Dream of the Anti-Expansionist: Mocks the anti-expansionist position.
6 stations · 1909-1919

Votes for Women, WWI & the Peace

Sample poster page: Election Day! with parts A, B and C marked

Cartoons for and against women's suffrage, the Fourteen Points, and the Senate fight over the League of Nations.

  1. 1. Election Day! (1909, E.W. Gustin)
  2. 2. The Awakening (1915, Henry "Hy" Mayer)
  3. 3. If You Are Good Enough for War You Are Good Enough to Vote (1917, Morris)
  4. 4. Forming the League of Nations (1918, William Gropper)
  5. 5. The Gap in the Bridge (1919, Leonard Raven-Hill)
  6. 6. Refusing to Give the Lady a Seat (1919, Rollin Kirby)
1909-1919Grades 6-8, 9-12Political cartoons⏱ 30-45 min
For teachers

Viewpoints in this packet

  • Election Day!: Argues against women's suffrage by imagining what would happen at home.
  • The Awakening: Supports women's suffrage.
  • If You Are Good Enough for War You Are Good Enough to Vote: Supports women's suffrage. The round stamp is from a German archive that collected the clipping.
  • Forming the League of Nations: Gropper was a radical (left-wing) cartoonist who distrusted governments and business leaders.
  • The Gap in the Bridge: A British view, critical of the U.S. staying out.
  • Refusing to Give the Lady a Seat: Kirby's paper supported the treaty; Lodge and others argued the League would limit U.S. independence.