During the Gilded Age, political cartoons emerged as a powerful tool to critique societal issues and influential figures, offering a mix of humor, symbolism, and biting commentary. While industrialists like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were celebrated by some as “captains of industry” for driving progress and innovation, they were vilified by others as “robber barons” who amassed vast wealth at the expense of workers and ethics. This lesson uses political cartoons to explore these conflicting perspectives and the broader inequalities of the era. By analyzing the symbols, exaggeration, and tone in these visual commentaries, students uncover how cartoonists challenged the unchecked power and wealth of industrialists.
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About the inquiry
Compelling Question
How were industry leaders villainized during the Gilded Age?
Standards
D2.His.9.9-12. Analyze the relationship between historical sources and the secondary interpretations made from them.
Instructional Snapshot
As a class, begin by brainstorming how political cartoons communicate messages, generating a list of methods on the board. Briefly provide students with the context that political cartoonists often targeted “robber barons” during the Gilded Age to critique their wealth, power, and questionable business practices. Then, project the cartoon in Featured Source A on the board, allowing students to add additional features to the brainstorming list. If needed, model analyzing a political cartoon to prepare students to analyze cartoons later in the lesson. Next, pair students and give each team one or two of the remaining political cartoons from the Gilded Age Political Cartoons Source Set. Using the brainstorming list as a guide, students work together to identify those features in their assigned cartoons. Then, combine pairs of students who analyzed different cartoons. The newly formed teams deliberate, determining which political cartoon offers the most effective critique of industry leaders during the Gilded Age. Have students share their selections with the class and explain their reasoning.
For additional support when analyzing political cartoons, see the Library of Congress’s Primary Source Analysis Tool and Teacher’s Guide: Analyzing Political Cartoons.
Formative Tasks
PRODUCE: Brainstorm and make a list of how political cartoons communicate messages.
COLLABORATE: Identify those features in political cartoons depicting industry leaders of the Gilded Age.
DELIBERATE: Determine which political cartoon is the most effective critique of industry leaders during the Gilded Age.
Sources
Source Set: Gilded Age Political Cartoons Source Set, Library of Congress
Summative Performance Task
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Taking Informed Action
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