Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Conclusion-Cola And Cartoons: A Showcase Of Freshman Research At Unlv, Cian T. Mcmahon

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

The decisions we make about politics and society are influenced by what we see and hear in the news. That is why political cartoons are so important. They present clear opinions on complicated matters in ways that transcend everyday language.

“The Propagation Society—More Free Than Welcome”, Arneisha Swanson

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

This cartoon was published independently by Nathanial Currier circa 1855. “The Propagation Society- More Free than Welcome” reflects the Americans point of view on the Irish Catholic immigrants in 1855. In the cartoon the priest is bombarding the Americans to step aside so that they can take over all spiritual welfare. Embedded into the cartoon is a message of an anti-Catholic group the “Know Nothings” and their attempt to get rid of the Irish Catholics.

“Another Triumph For Jonathon—Biggest Reptile In The Universe”, Frances Skeirik

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

“Another Triumph for Jonathan- Biggest Reptile in the Universe” was published in Judy Newspaper on May 17th, 1882. In this cartoon, Uncle Sam sits back complacently in his rocking chair while this huge sea monster from the United States swims ashore of another country. On the beast is written “American Feniansim”. Looking even closer in the hand of this sea monster is a knife with the word “Assassination” written upon it. Lastly, ashore of the other country is a man holding a lasso in hopes of catching this monster but he is having no luck whatsoever due to the size …

“Looking Backward”, Flor De Liz Regalado

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

“Looking Backwards”, the controversial cartoon from Puck Magazine, was published on January 11, 1893. Composed by the founder of Puck Magazine himself, Joseph Keppler, created the cartoon that portrays the arguable rights of foreign visitors, also referred to as immigrants. The image represents an immigrant who has stepped off of a ship and entered into a foreign land and greeted with a generous “goodbye”, by those whom once were in his position and are now successful. Behind the figures that rejected the newcomer, are shadows of themselves being casted as they were once immigrants, too.

“The Fool Pied Piper”, Elizabeth Stevenson

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

This cartoon entitled “The Fool Pied Piper,” that was published in Puck Magazine June 2, 1909 shows American distaste for immigration to the United States. It portrays Uncle Sam as the Pied Piper, leading rats across the ocean toward the Statue of Liberty with a pipe that is labeled “Lax Immigration Laws.” The rats are labeled “Murderer,” “Thief”, “Kidnapper,” and “Assassin.” Some rats are carrying papers that say “The Black Hand.” Meanwhile, leaders and citizens of the countries the rats are leaving are cheering the rats’ departure.

“The First Blow At The Chinese Question”, Carlos Harris

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

Published as the cover story of “The San Francisco Illustrated Wasp” on December 8, 1877, “The First Blow at the Chinese Question” depicts the struggle between the American work force and the Chinese migrants. In front of a store in the middle of China Town, a protestor for the American “Working Men’s Procession” is shown punching a regular Chinese migrant man in his face. Inside the store, stands an angry crowd of Chinese migrants; behind the protestor, is more men supporting his cause against the Chinese. At first glance, the cartoon is straight forward, but there is deeper symbolism within …

“The Chinese Question”, Bianca Palacios

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

Published in Harper's Weekly on February 18, 1871, The Chinese Question defends Chinese immigrants against the brutal prejudice and discrimination that they faced in America. In this cartoon by Thomas Nast, Columbia, the feminine symbol of the United States, shields the despondent Chinese man against a gang of thugs, whom she emphatically reminds that "America means fair play for all men." This armed mob whom were also immigrants consisting of Irish Americans and perhaps German Americans as well. They were very angry about the Chinese coming to America to work and they protested against the Union Draft and Lincoln's Emancipation …

“Colonists And Convicts”, Dakota Hoskins

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

The “Colonists and Convicts” cartoon debuted in the British magazine called Punch in October 1864. The cartoon brings to life the bickering that occurred between the Australian colonists and the British officers. It gives off the idea that the colonists were more annoyed with the officers than the convicts themselves. The rugged Australians were fed up with being forced fed the British rulings.

“The Balance Of Trade With Great Britain Seems To Be Still Against Us”, Eric Corral

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

Published in New York’s Harper’s Weekly on April 28, 1883, “The Balance of Trade with Great Britain Seems to be Still Against Us” depicts the rising tensions between immigrants, particularly Irish, coming to the United States from Great Britain. During the Great Famine (1845-1852) many Irishmen under the rule of the Crown emigrated to the United States. Tensions began to flare between both parties once the Irish nationalist group, “The Fenians,” situated in the United States, began to terrorize Great Britain. The United States felt its Irish immigrants were implicated, and Great Britain felt that the United States was allowing …

“The Mortar Of Assimilation—And The One Element That Won’T Mix”, Jenna Downs

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

Published in Puck magazine on June 26, 1889, “The Mortar of Assimilation And The One Element That Just Won’t Mix” cartoon was a perfect exhibit of the Americans view on the Irish immigration to the United States. In the melting pot several different kinds of Americans can be spotted, but the one Irishman is standing on the edge of the pot holding a knife and a flag.

“The Ignorant Vote—Honors Are Easy”, Deborah Guinn

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

In the New York magazine Harper’s Weekly on December 1, 1876, “The Ignorant Vote – Honors Are Easy” cartoon is showing the difference that the African American Republican vote and Irish Catholic Democratic vote played in the 1876 election between Rutherford B. Hayes, a republican, and Samuel J. Tilden, a democrat. There was a dispute on who the actual election winner was because the votes were so close.

“The Most Recently Discovered Wild Beast”, Jenelle Tamio

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

This Political cartoon is labeled "The Most Recently Discovered Wild Beast.” This cartoon depicts Irish as jail bound hooligans. In this political cartoon simianization is used among the Irish-American. Simianization is the way cartoonists portray humans as having monkey like features.

“It’S Going To Be Just Turned Around”, Zachary Meyer

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

Appearing in the Columbus Dispatch on April 21st 1924, Ray Evans’ cartoon titled “It’s Going to Be Just Turned Around” supports the Immigration Act of 1924 by displaying two different worlds in which different immigration policies are being applied: One with the immigration act, and one without.

“Mongolian Octopus—Its Grip On Australia”, Ron Thornton

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

Published in the Sydney based The Bulletin Magazine on August 21, 1886, “The Mongolian Octopus – His Grip on Australia” cartoon was pointedly used as a form of propaganda against Mongolian & Chinese immigration. The cartoon illustrates an octopus with a human head and eight outstretched arms. On each of these arms is a different term, such as typhoid or immorality. These terms, along with the octopus itself, all portrayed racist views of Chinese and Mongolian immigrants.

“Welcome To All”, Samantha Hamika

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

In the cartoon “Welcome to All” by Joseph Keppler published in the magazine Puck on April 28, 1880, it portrays Uncle Sam standing in front of an ark with his arms open to immigrants, who are lined up in front of the ark. There are signs next to the ark that claim all good things about America that other countries don’t have. There is also a big, black, evil-looking ghost blending in with the clouds in the background that is staring down on the immigrants.

“Where The Blame Lies”, Sahar Nawabzada

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

Published in Judge Magazine on April 4th 1891, the cartoon Where the Blame Lies shows a flood of immigrants arriving to New York City while a disapproving Uncle Sam looks on at them. The cartoon shows a Supreme Court Judge that is imploring Uncle Sam to amend the constitution to restrict immigration. When looking at the immigrants themselves, each immigrant has words such as “Anarchist” or “Socialist” written on their clothing to convey the negative attributes immigrants bring to the country. On the stage is a piece of paper that reads “Mafia in New Orleans, Anarchists in Chicago, and Socialists …

“The Day We Celebrate”, Tierra Washington

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

This cartoon was published in a New York newspaper, Harper’s Weekly on April 6, 1867, about March 17, 1867 celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. It shows the Irishmen having box shaped faces, to make them look alike to apes. The Irishmen are shown beating police and innocent citizens. Yet this cartoon showed how the Americans stereotyped the Irish-Americans.

“They Are Pretty Safe There”, Madison Palmer

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

The year of 1882 was a intense year for Chinese migrants. This was the year that the Chinese Exclusion act was passed thus banning Chinese immigration to the United States. This hatred for the Chinese began around the time of the building of the transcontinental railroad. This was because so many Chinese were moving to the states to help with the railroad that white males began to feel “insecure” or “frightened” that the Chinese would take all the American jobs and women.

“Uncle Sam’S Thanksgiving Dinner”, Kenosha Gee

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

Published in the November 22nd, 1860 issue of Harper Weekly, by Thomas Nast (known for the invention of the character Uncle Sam) Nast captured and celebrated the ethnic diversity and envision the political equality of citizens of the American republic. Even though it seems as if the picture shows that everyone race (African, Native, French, German, Arab, British, Chinese, Italian, etc.) are getting along, there are many hidden messages that lies in this photo. Nast aims the cartoon at the ratification of the 15th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. On the table is a monument to “self- government” and “Universal …

“Be Just—Even To John Chinaman”, Prinz Esteban

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

Published in Judge Magazine on June 3, 1893 the “Be Just—Even to John Chinaman” cartoon is used to represent the harsh treatment felt by many Chinese immigrants as they entered into the United States with the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was renewed by the Geary Act in 1892. The cartoon displays a Chinese man as he is being forced out of “Miss Columbia's school.” The cartoon itself is full of irony as the other students in the class were also heavily discriminated against in American history.

“The High Tide Of Immigration—A National Menace”, Mackenzie Brandenburger

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

This cartoon “The High Tide of Immigration – A National Menace” appeared in the humor magazine Judge in 1903. It reflects the alarm among some Americans at the growing number of immigrants from countries in Southern and Eastern Europe such as Italy, Russia, Austria, Hungary and declining number of immigrants from countries in northern and western Europe such as Ireland and Germany.

“The Immigrant: Is He An Acquisition Or A Detriment?”, Karla Garcia-Cardenas

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

Published in Judge magazine on September 19, 1903, “The Immigrant: Is He An Acquisition Or A Detriment?” cartoon reveals the opposing viewpoints of seven major interest groups towards immigration. Individuals surround the immigrants located in the center, expressing their judgments through signs and identification labels. In general, the cartoon depicts the benefits and drawbacks of immigration in the early twentieth century.

Cola And Cartoons: A Showcase Of Freshman Research At Unlv, Cian T. Mcmahon

History Undergraduate Research (COLA)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Professor McMahon and the students of his COLA 100 section wish to acknowledge the kind support this project received from the following members of the Lied Library staff:

Patricia Iannuzzi (Dean, University Libraries)

Vicki A. Nozero (Director, User Services)

Dan Werra (Media and Computer Services)

Priscilla Finley (Humanities Librarian)

The Red Scare, Allison Ellis

Undergraduate Research Conference

The Red Scare describes the time in American History following World War II when tension between Americans and other Communist countries, specifically the Soviet Union, were threateningly high. Each county was equipped for, yet fearful of an atomic war. The United States government tried to use this fear to motivate the American public to become mobilized. American citizens were encouraged to rely on themselves and prepare for the worst. Even though they were ignorant to the effects of such an attack, Americans tried desperately to prepare their homes and families. The government published articles, pamphlets, short films, and held drills …