Throughout history, political cartoons have been adding entertainment and humor to news articles and news magazines all over the world. The first of these cartoons began appearing in the mid-to-early-18th century; for instance, a man named George Townshend’s cartoons poked fun at his commander, or James Gillray’s satirical depictions of King George III, which earned Gillray the title of “the father of political cartooning”. Even earlier, William Hogarth used the cartoons to advocate against the corruption of the British government at the time.

Typically found in a newspaper’s editorial section, the cartoons mainly aim to make readers think by showcasing serious issues in a satirical way. They use humor and exaggeration to convey complex ideas about current events, and appeal to the reader visually rather than textually.

Perhaps the most well-known political cartoon is Benjamin Franklin’s ‘Join or Die’, which pushed the newly formed American colonies to unite during the ongoing French and Indian War. The cartoon, published in 1754, depicted a snake severed into eight separate pieces, each one representing one of the colonies. The image was captioned: “Join, or Die.” The simplicity and visual appeal of the drawing has helped it to stay widely recognizable even today.

Although political cartoons can be powerful when done in a certain way, they tend to largely draw audiences through silly, hyperbolic imagery. The cartoons are based on caricatures, a style of art that exaggerates images to create absurdity – some of the earliest of which have been found in the sketches of Leonardo da Vinci. But history teacher Andrea Moerer finds that they can be harmful when used in the wrong ways.

“I’ve seen plenty of what I consider borderline racist or even racist political cartoons often about [international] issues,” Sachs said. “For some reason, political cartoonists in the U.S. think they can draw derogatory characterizations of people from other countries, and we don’t notice.”

Since the 18th century and especially throughout past decades, political cartoons have become increasingly prevalent– but Moerer believes they’re on the road to disappearance.

“I worry about cartoons because they were more easily consumed … in print media,” she said.

Today, only 11% of adults in the United States read local newspapers, and even fewer read national ones. More often than not, editorial cartoons are seen on social media.

“I think today, … yes, people can look at a picture of a cartoon, but [it’s] … not the same,” Moerer said.

Students expressed similar views. “I think they’re still relevant,” sophomore Miles Messier said, “but they all look the same.”

He thinks the have been done over and over in the same way.

“There needs to be a new style,” sophomore Stella Hunter said.

While editorial cartoons may not be as big of a trend as they once were, they are still an effective way to learn about current events that, for many people, might be more entertaining than a typical news story. And who knows? When they’re in the editorial section, they may spark a fascination that could bring the cartoons back into play for good.