cartoons for the classroom - nieonline

Talking points1. Anti-immigration themes abound in early politicalcartoons. This vicious portrayal of a Chinese immi-grant reflected the anger of many Californians inthe 1800s. Chinese immigrants were so skilled andefficient they soon dominated the cigar, clothingand laundry trades. What made the Chinese easyscapegoats for San Franciscans frustrated by highunemployment?

2. Are similar cultural biases evident in the reac-tion to Latino immigration issues in the states bor-dering Mexico and elsewhere?3. Racist and ethnic stereotyping in cartoons wascommon in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Define “stereotype” and explain how the termapplies to this drawing. Would this cartoon be pub-lished by the mainstream press today? Explain.

Additional resourcesAssociation of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC)http://editorialcartoonists.com/

The San Francisco Wasp: An Illustrated Historyhttp://www.oldmagazines.com/private/press.htm

Get out your newspaperGather a collection of political cartoons from your newspa-per dealing with the immigration issue. Using the CartoonEvaluation Worksheet (available online at the NIEWebsite) analyze each cartoon and explain the issuesaddressed and determine the point of view of the artist.Gather news stories about the immigration issue and evalu-ate the cartoonists’ opinions.

The term xenophobia is typically used to describethe fear or dislike of foreigners -- in general, fearof people different from one's self. Each wave ofimmigrants has faced cultural, ethnic, and racialprejudice upon arrival in the United States. Italian,Irish, black, Jewish and Latino immigrants weregreeted by racial intolerance and discriminatory leg-islation as their numbers swelled. During the 19thcentury, Anti-Asian hostility and the fear of "cheap"Asian labor led to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882which suspended the immigration of Chinese laborersfor 10 years and prevented those already in the U.S.from becoming citizens. Political cartoons from theseeras reflect the prejudices of their times.

Cartoons for the Classroom is available through Newspaper in Education programs. Copyright Online Publications Inc. and NIEonline.com

Cartoons for the ClassroomPresented by NIEonline.com and the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC)

Xenophobia Ugly stereotypes and prejudicemark anti-immigration cartoons

The Coming Man. George Keller / Wasp, San Francisco, 1881

Between the linesCongressional proposals to criminalize illegal andundocumented immigrants and to build a wallalong the entire U.S.-Mexico border havesparked demonstrations across the U.S.