Introduction

Political cartoons, also known as editorial cartoons, occupy a delicate spot in modern culture: Part humor, part satire, they reflect a view of society's challenges at a particular time. The development of the editorial cartoon genre can be traced to 18th-century British politics when a few caricaturists began lampooning British leaders and the French Revolution. Almost 300 years, the genre continues to be a bellwether of culture and politics. Looking back through archives of these cartoons paints a picture of the history of the day and offers a glimpse of the emotions, struggles, and opinions of the time that words may fail to capture fully.

Arkansas's colorful political history is well documented thanks to two iconic cartoonists. Jon Kennedy was the political cartoonist for the Arkansas Democrat for almost 45 years, and Bill Graham was the cartoonist for the competing Arkansas Gazette for 37 years. The career spans of these two cultural commentators included Arkansas events like the Little Rock Central High School crisis and Bill Clinton's political rise.

The exhibit offers perspectives from from scholars from a variety of disciplines, as well as a well-known practicing editorial cartoonist. Throughout the exhibit's articles are examples of cartoons from the Kennedy and Graham collections, but an extensive Media Gallery offers views of hundreds of digitized political cartoons and other archival materials from collections at CAHC. The website also offers educational materials for teachers and students in Arkansas.