Political Cartoons

By: Madison May

The political cartoon above illustrates President Nixon’s involvement in the Watergate Scandal and what ultimately led him to resign. At first, Nixon was against the idea of secret taping. However, he switched his point of view and installed hidden microphones in his desk and fireplace. Nixon secretly taped his conversations to keep as a record. This so called “good idea,” ended up destroying Nixon’s career, hints why he is dangling between two tape reels. The taped conversations contained the potent information on the Watergate Scandal. It uncovered information that Nixon had been breaking the law. When he was confronted with questions on his involvement in the scandal, he remarked, “I am not a crook.” This event forced President Nixon to resign from office.  The way Nixon’s back is hunched and expression on his face reveals it all. He looks irritated by the fact he is been accused of such a crime, when in fact he is more overcome with anger that he has actually been caught. The sentence, “I am” and “a crook,” are directly across from each other to emphasize that the American people knew Nixon was crook. The president is holing on to, “not,” with his teeth to convey that he was holding on to his innocence.

 

This political cartoon is an ironic hack at the war in Vietnam and the credibility gap between the government and the American people during this time. While thousands of soldiers were being shipped to Vietnam, at home the government along with the press were working to deceive the people of the United States into supporting the war. Because this was the first televised war, Americans were exposed to the devastation of the war first hand at home on their televisions. With the war being broadcast for the world at home to experience, many were resentful of the young American lives that were lost in combat. This cartoon shows soldiers during battle in Vietnam reading in an American newspaper how the US is sending their troops back home. While the press were releasing statements saying that the war was coming to a close, soldiers were still continuing to fight and seeing no change. This cartoon symbolizes the government corruption and manipulation of publicity during the Vietnam war.

 

This cartoon illustrates President Lyndon B Johnson given an irregularly large nose. All throughout his presidency, Johnson’s popularity was maintained from the public because of his promise to the American people that the Vietnam war effort was worth the time, money, and dedication. Most all Americans stood behind this idea, trusting their president completely, even when they were still a little uncertain about how they felt. News broadcasts, however, proved to assert different consequences of the war and that was that hundreds of thousands of young men and women each day were becoming deceased and there seemed to be little to no hope for America. Seeing these broadcasts angered the public severely, for not only was the war way beyond what anyone expected or hoped it would be, but their own president was lying to them the whole time. Many viewed Johnson as a coward and a imposter, blaming him solely for the war and its proceedings. Much like the fictional character Pinocchio, whose nose grows larger every time he lies, Johnson’s newfound quality as a liar qualified him for a relation to this character. Johnson’s nose is irregularly large in this cartoon because he betrayed his country, and was put in the spotlight for it, hence his nose appearing significantly larger. The American society was let down, stuck in a brutal war, and held little hope for what the future was to bring. To many, Johnson was considered a hero and a great leader, but all trust was broken when war got in the way, and America was left in the dust.