Collaboration Review

Collaboration Review

I was asked to review Michael Wilmoth’s political cartoon project. He has two parts to his assignment; one part is on the escalation of Vietnam and the other is on Watergate. I found the cartoons and assignment extremely interesting and I think it would work very well for high school students. Below are my suggestions for Michael’s project.

Assignment 1 - Cartoons on the escalation in Vietnam

Historical Background
I think the most important suggestion I can make for this section is to consult specific monographs on the Vietnam War. The sources listed in the bibliography are either more general works or do not seem applicable to the subject matter. This leads to some historical mistakes in the background section. For example, in the first paragraph, after reading this sentence - “By October of that year the communist who had been fighting the French for control of the area since 1946 lead by Viet Minh took over what was now called Vietnam.” - it is unclear who the Viet Minh were and how they took over all of Vietnam, since the communists only controlled North Vietnam. A discussion of the South Vietnamese communists’ insurgency (as opposed to control of the government in the North) against Diem in the late 1950s and early 1960s might help clarify things. I would suggest Vietnam Wars, 1945-1990 by Marilyn Young or Vietnam: A History by Stanley Karnow to add more specific information to the historical background.

Student Handout
I really liked some of the questions that Michael included in this section. The first question asked them to summarize what they had seen in the cartoons, and then building on that, the other questions asked them to interpret and analyze aspects of the cartoons. I also liked question 4, which helps clarify for students that they are looking at cartoons by the same person and aids them in understanding the point of view and biases of this cartoonist. The teacher could then add other perspectives on the war to broaden students’ understanding. One concern that I did have is that students will need a significant amount of outside knowledge in order to answer question 2, since many groups were affected who are not in any of the cartoons. That knowledge could be brought in through other methods, of course, but the teacher would need to be aware of that before using the cartoons in class. Although not based specifically on the cartoons, I also thought that question 5 was interesting, because it could be used as a jumping off point for comparing US actions in Vietnam (and elsewhere during the Cold War) to those of the Soviet Union. Since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 is sometimes thought of as the USSR’s Vietnam, it would be interesting to compare Soviet justifications for that war to the US justifications for the war in Vietnam.

Answer Key
My suggestion for Michael here would be to expand on the answers given in the key so that there is more than just a sentence or two for each one. There is a tremendous potential for discussion and analysis in these cartoons, and more information for the teacher might be helpful to guide the students in their analysis of the cartoons. For example, with question 3, it might be interesting to provide some justifications for the war, so that students, who will reflexively oppose the war, might be exposed to ideas they had not considered.

Assignment 2 - Cartoons on Watergate

Historical Background
Overall, the essay on Watergate was very informative. To increase teacher understanding, one might add information to explain more fully the widespread corruption that the Nixon administration participated in, beyond just the break-in. Michael does list some of the wrongdoings, but explaining them might be beneficial. I would also recheck the dates in the essay, as some of them are incorrect. For example, Nixon resigned in 1974, not 1973. Finally, I have not read the books and articles that are cited, but looking over the sources on Amazon, none of them seemed specifically to deal with Watergate. It might be helpful to consult a work that focuses on the scandal.

Student Handout
I think the questions that Michael created for this assignment were very well done. I like that the student is asked a variety of questions about the message of the cartoon, the symbolism, and exaggeration and irony. One suggestion I have is to either eliminate question 7 or make it part of a larger project, since it asks students to use background knowledge well outside of the information provided in the cartoons. I also think question 6 on irony could be expanded to include all of the cartoons instead of just the first one. Finally, it might be necessary to explain the phrase “chickens coming home to roost” for a full understanding of the fourth cartoon.

Answer Key
For this answer key I will repeat the suggestion from the previous one: to expand on the answers given in the key to aid the teacher in guiding class discussion and student understanding of the cartoons. This applies especially to the last three questions.

Student Handout WITH Answers, Student Handout + 1 more item

Student Handout WITH Answers
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcnpvftm_8c5rr6wnf&invite=c8jbq76

Student Handout
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcnpvftm_59p6h5nf5&invite=gnx8687

Historical Background to Thomas Nast'...
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcnpvftm_06zjqht28&invite=fdrfp9b

Be Sure to Give Mine Special Attention

Library of Congress. "Herblock's History: Political Cartoons from the Crash to the Millennium." Available from http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/swann/herblock/images/hblock8.jpg. Internet; accessed February 1, 2009.

Exploring Political Cartoons on the Web

I have found a wealth of material on political cartoons on the Internet. What has been interesting, as I’ve come across sites that I use is that the breadth of the material across the whole of the curriculum is sometimes lacking. Using the Internet as a resource, we are at the mercy of the devotees of a particular cartoonist to scan, upload, and host the cartoons of a particular artist. So what we end up with is important and extremely useful sites that focus on a cartoonist, or a specific event. But it takes a lot of research online (and sometimes offline) to find material that is useful outside of what is easily accessible on the Internet. Further, although this may be obvious, material on the 20th century is much more accessible than material on the 19th century.

The cartoons of Thomas Nast, who illustrated during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, are extremely important for understanding the era as well as appreciating the huge step forward political cartooning made with the advent of Nast. Thanks to harpweek.com, much of Nast’s work can be found online, complete with explanations of the meaning and symbols in the cartoons. Also very useful is the “Analyze a Thomas Nast Cartoon” at historymatters.gmu.edu. It might be interesting for students to view Nast’s cartoons on Boss Tweed, which are his most famous, and ask students how they view Nast’s politics (without telling them Tweed was a Democrat). I suspect that most would say that Nast was “looking out for the little guy” against corruption and greed among the powerful, or something equivalent. Then, the teacher could show them the cartoon at History Matters, to show students that in the case of the money question in the late 1800s, Nast was firmly on the side of business and the powerful and against what farmers (if not industrial workers) fought for. What is also useful about the History Mattes site is that the students can hear how Professor O’Malley interprets the cartoon, going well beyond superficial interpretations that students (and this teacher) initially saw.

The election of 1912 was momentous because a progressive Democrat was elected in a three-way race against two Republicans (one of whom was running as a Progressive). The NARA site has a great background essay on the election, as well as four cartoons that are useful to show criticism of Theodore Roosevelt’s decision to run for a third term (breaking the tradition set by Washington). Another cartoon shows the importance of winning Ohio for Republican presidents. It would be interesting for students to view electoral maps from both before and after this election, to show the importance of Ohio through at least the election of 2004 for Republicans. The last cartoon on the NARA could be used in a history or government class to illustrate the difficulties of campaigning and electioneering on candidates, as well as the uncertainty of the 1912 election.

The Dr. Seuss Went to War site is a great site to use to demonstrate specific historical events related to World War II. Most students are already familiar with Dr. Seuss’ style in very different contexts, so it might be entertaining for them to see him propagandize for the United States during the war. Students may also be interested in the pervasive racism that Dr. Seuss demonstrates toward Japanese subjects in his cartoons. Obviously, teachers in the public school setting should be sensitive in how (and how much) they show these types of cartoons.

Finally, Herb Block’s cartoons are wonderful for discussions about events of the recent past (sine the 1950s). Block is quite critical of Republicans, especially Nixon and Reagan, so the teacher may need to temper some of his criticisms with explanations from their defenders.

Using Political Cartoons to Teach American History

Hi, 

My name is Shad Ashcroft.  I teach high school US history and US government at Deer Valley High School in Glendale, Arizona.  I am currently working (albeit slowly) toward a master's degree in history. 

I use cartoons (along with other visuals) when I lecture.  I give my students a printout of my notes ahead of time so that we don't have to use class time for them to write them down.  Then, as I explain things to them, we can expand on what the notes say using visuals.  So, a cartoon that illustrates the Monroe Doctrine becomes much more clear when they can see Europeans on one side of the ocean and Uncle Sam on the other side, with a "live wire" that spells "Monroe Doctrine" in between.  I have also had some success having the kids create their own political cartoons on either historical or current topics.