Interpreting a Political Cartoon from the Eve of WWII
Interpreting Data
About this Activity
- Created by:Center for Legislative Archives, National Archives
- Historical Era:The Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)
- Thinking Skill:Historical Analysis & Interpretation
- Bloom's Taxonomy:Analyzing
- Grade Level:High School
Please use a tablet or desktop computer to use this activity.
Students will analyze a political cartoon by Clifford Berryman by identifying the artistic techniques Berryman used to convey his message about the state of the world in the weeks leading up to the start of World War II.
https://docsteach.org/activities/student/how-do-political-cartoonists-convey-their-points-of-viewSuggested Teaching Instructions
Students will discover how political cartoonists employ a variety of artistic techniques to convey their point of view by analyzing a political cartoon from August 30, 1939, It's a Good Act but it's Hard on the Spectators, by Clifford Berryman. This activity can be used when teaching about the beginning of WWII and American, British, and French responses to German expansion.For grades 9–12. Approximate time is 30–45 minutes.
This activity can be presented to the entire class or completed by students individually or in groups. For example, you may wish to conduct a review of common artistic techniques of political cartoons as a class. Next, have students work individually or in small groups to label the different techniques they find in the cartoon using the "+Add Text" feature. In each label, students should include how the artist uses each technique. For example, if students identify a symbol, they should include what they think the symbol represents. Finally, ask students to share the techniques they found with the class and conduct the "When You're Done" section as a class discussion. Or, you can ask students to submit their individual answers.
This list of common political cartoon techniques is provided for students' reference.
Personification: A human form used to represent an idea or thing.
Symbol: A visual element that stands for something else. Symbols are often objects meant to represent ideas.
Symbol: A visual element that stands for something else. Symbols are often objects meant to represent ideas.
Exaggeration: A characteristic that is overstated or heightened.
Analogy: A comparison of two otherwise unlike things based on the resemblance of a particular aspect. Analogies are often used to explain complex ideas.
Irony: Expressing the opposite of what is expected, or depicting a situation to be a certain way on the surface, when it is very different from how things really are.
To decode Berryman's message and understand which techniques he employs in this cartoon, it may be helpful for students to consult the front page of the newspaper in which this cartoon originally appeared: the August 20, 1939 edition of the Washington Evening Star. This
is available on Chronicling America, a historical newspaper database sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
is available on Chronicling America, a historical newspaper database sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
Student answers identifying the artistic techniques will vary, but should include the following:
Personification: The three seated figures in the cartoon personify countries (from left to right) The United States (Uncle Sam), Great Britain (John Bull), and France (often depicted by Berryman as a man in a top hat and mustache). Note: Students may also identify the three seated figures as symbols, which is acceptable.
Symbol: The rifle could represent the mobilization of German forces on the Polish border. It could also represent the militarization of Germany under Hitler's rule.
The world or globe could represent the world order as understood at the time.
The act of Hitler balancing the rifle and globe on his nose could represent the precarious balance between peace and war that Europe faced at the time.
The severity of response shown by the three seated figures in the cartoon represents their nearness to Germany. France is the most visibly concerned.
Exaggeration: Berryman drew the figure personifying France as having a heightened response to Hitler's balancing act. Giant drops of sweat are rolling down his face and his hat is flying off of his head. This exaggeration draws attention to the fact that France and Germany share a border and that German mobilization on the Polish border, along with the annexation of other borderlands, could mean France is in danger of a German invasion.
Analogy: Berryman compares the United States, Great Britain, and France to anxious, but passive, spectators of a circus act. The U.S. policies of isolationism and neutrality, and Great Britain and France's policies of appeasement, have let Hitler achieve his expansion goals so far. The analogy also connects to language commonly used in the Washington Evening Star about the European Situation, referring to Great Britain as "watching" the events unfold with concern, just as circus goers may be captivated by a daring circus act.
Irony: Referring to a serious threat as a "good act" is an example of irony. In the caption for the cartoon, Berryman refers to Hitler's balancing act as a "good act." However, this is not an act in the theatrical sense, and it's not a pretend threat. The mobilization of German troops at the Polish border may acquire more territory by provoking fear that will lead to appeasement by other European nations, or through war. Either of these outcomes are not necessarily "good" for the government and people of Poland at the time of this cartoon.
When You're Done: In this activity, students are analyzing a political cartoon as a work of art, so their interpretations may vary; but their answers to the wrap-up questions should align to the themes below.
What world events are depicted in this cartoon?
Additional Class Discussion Questions
Political cartoons do not depict events as they happened, but should be read as evidence of opinions and moods of the time from which they are from. That being said, how can this political cartoon add to our understanding of World War II?
Which other perspectives would you want to examine from this time period? How might they be different from the artist's?
Berryman refers to Germany's expansion and military escalation as an act that is "hard on the spectators." What other challenges might a country face in order to maintain a policy of appeasement (in the case of Great Britain and France) or isolationism (the United States) in the face of German military escalation and expansion?
Additional Background Information and Political Cartoon Resources
This cartoon was drawn by Clifford Berryman, one of Washington, DC's best-known cartoonists in the early to mid-1900s. Berryman drew for the Washington Post and Evening Star newspapers. His cartoons touched on a variety of subjects including politics, elections, and both World Wars. A collection of 2,400 original pen-and-ink drawings by Clifford K. Berryman from the U.S. Senate Collection is housed at the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives. The Center has created a variety of resources which feature the cartoons including eBooks, exhibits, lesson plans, and more.
You may also find it helpful to share document analysis worksheets for analyzing political cartoons with your students.
The world or globe could represent the world order as understood at the time.
The act of Hitler balancing the rifle and globe on his nose could represent the precarious balance between peace and war that Europe faced at the time.
The severity of response shown by the three seated figures in the cartoon represents their nearness to Germany. France is the most visibly concerned.
Exaggeration: Berryman drew the figure personifying France as having a heightened response to Hitler's balancing act. Giant drops of sweat are rolling down his face and his hat is flying off of his head. This exaggeration draws attention to the fact that France and Germany share a border and that German mobilization on the Polish border, along with the annexation of other borderlands, could mean France is in danger of a German invasion.
Analogy: Berryman compares the United States, Great Britain, and France to anxious, but passive, spectators of a circus act. The U.S. policies of isolationism and neutrality, and Great Britain and France's policies of appeasement, have let Hitler achieve his expansion goals so far. The analogy also connects to language commonly used in the Washington Evening Star about the European Situation, referring to Great Britain as "watching" the events unfold with concern, just as circus goers may be captivated by a daring circus act.
Irony: Referring to a serious threat as a "good act" is an example of irony. In the caption for the cartoon, Berryman refers to Hitler's balancing act as a "good act." However, this is not an act in the theatrical sense, and it's not a pretend threat. The mobilization of German troops at the Polish border may acquire more territory by provoking fear that will lead to appeasement by other European nations, or through war. Either of these outcomes are not necessarily "good" for the government and people of Poland at the time of this cartoon.
When You're Done: In this activity, students are analyzing a political cartoon as a work of art, so their interpretations may vary; but their answers to the wrap-up questions should align to the themes below.
What world events are depicted in this cartoon?
What is artist Clifford Berryman's point of view on these events?
How does Berryman convey his point of view through artistic techniques in this cartoon?
Berryman depicts the expansion of Nazi Germany and the French, British, and American responses to Germany's mobilization along the Polish border in this cartoon. Berryman views Germany's mobilization as a threat to the world order, as depicted through the symbol of a globe balancing on a rifle. By using the analogy of a circus act, Berryman illustrates his view of Hitler as in control of the situation in Europe with France, Great Britain, and the United States fearfully watching his next move. That Berryman represents the world as hanging in the balance may also indicate a fear that American policies that have kept the United States on the sidelines will not insulate the country from the Nazi threat. Berryman also uses exaggeration of the features of the spectating countries to captures the anxiety in these countries at this time.
How does Berryman convey his point of view through artistic techniques in this cartoon?
Berryman depicts the expansion of Nazi Germany and the French, British, and American responses to Germany's mobilization along the Polish border in this cartoon. Berryman views Germany's mobilization as a threat to the world order, as depicted through the symbol of a globe balancing on a rifle. By using the analogy of a circus act, Berryman illustrates his view of Hitler as in control of the situation in Europe with France, Great Britain, and the United States fearfully watching his next move. That Berryman represents the world as hanging in the balance may also indicate a fear that American policies that have kept the United States on the sidelines will not insulate the country from the Nazi threat. Berryman also uses exaggeration of the features of the spectating countries to captures the anxiety in these countries at this time.
Additional Class Discussion Questions
Political cartoons do not depict events as they happened, but should be read as evidence of opinions and moods of the time from which they are from. That being said, how can this political cartoon add to our understanding of World War II?
Which other perspectives would you want to examine from this time period? How might they be different from the artist's?
Berryman refers to Germany's expansion and military escalation as an act that is "hard on the spectators." What other challenges might a country face in order to maintain a policy of appeasement (in the case of Great Britain and France) or isolationism (the United States) in the face of German military escalation and expansion?
Additional Background Information and Political Cartoon Resources
This cartoon was drawn by Clifford Berryman, one of Washington, DC's best-known cartoonists in the early to mid-1900s. Berryman drew for the Washington Post and Evening Star newspapers. His cartoons touched on a variety of subjects including politics, elections, and both World Wars. A collection of 2,400 original pen-and-ink drawings by Clifford K. Berryman from the U.S. Senate Collection is housed at the Center for Legislative Archives at the National Archives. The Center has created a variety of resources which feature the cartoons including eBooks, exhibits, lesson plans, and more.
You may also find it helpful to share document analysis worksheets for analyzing political cartoons with your students.
Documents in this activity
To the extent possible under law, Center for Legislative Archives, National Archives has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to "Interpreting a Political Cartoon from the Eve of WWII".
