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1896
1896, a collection of political cartoons from the watershed presidential campaign that marked America's transition to the twentieth century. Cartoons from around the country and from three parties in the election--Republican, Democratic, and Populist--with party platforms, contemporary comment, and explorations of campaign themes.
Website
Created by Rebecca Edwards and Sarah DeFeo
| The Cartoons | Parties and Platforms | Leaders | Campaign Themes | Special Features |
The 1896 presidential election was one of the most exciting and complicated in U.S. history. This website provides an introduction to one aspect of the campaign: the hundreds of political cartoons published in newspapers around the country. Most of these cartoons have been buried in archival microfilms, where students can't reach them. They offer a window into political structures and issues, society, and culture in the United States, just before the turn of the last century. We will be adding more cartoons and features--check back occasionally to see what's new.
The site includes presidential Election Results by state. Use the Bibliography and Journal pages to explore our sources; consult the Teaching page for ideas on using "1896" with students of history, politics, or literature. If you or your class wish to do your own research and add to the site, please write to us with your proposal.
"1896" contains many images and arguments that the site's architects find offensive, including antisemitic and racial slurs. These themes--and protests against them, which were largely ignored in the press--represented the state of public opinion at the time. We include such material as part of our commitment to a full understanding of the past and its legacies today.
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The symbol of the house, as well as the 1896 logo at the bottom of each page, always takes you to the top of this Home Page. |
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The
clock takes you to a chronology of major events in the campaign, and a
listing all of the cartoons reprinted at this site, in the order they
were originally published. |
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The
typewriter takes you to a list of journals and newspapers used in
constructing this site, with information about their locations,
editors, and circulation numbers in 1896. |
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The
elephant, traditional symbol of the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), links to
an information page on the leaders, issues, and tactics of the
Republican party in the 1896 campaign. |
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The
donkey, traditional symbol of the Democrats, links to an information
page on Silver Democratic leaders, issues, and tactics in the campaign. |
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The plow takes you to information on the leaders and national strategy of the People's, or Populist Party, in the presidential campaign. |
Index of Leaders and Themes
Leaders
John Peter Altgeld
Susan B. Anthony
William Jennings Bryan
Andrew Carnegie
Grover Cleveland
Eugene V. Debs
Mark Hanna
William R. Hearst
Mary E. Lease
William McKinley
J. P. Morgan
John M. Palmer
Joseph Pulitzer
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Henry Teller
Benjamin Tillman
Booker T. Washington
Tom Watson
William Allen White
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Antisemitism
McKinley Supporters and the Bible
Bryan and the Bible
The Civil War and Slavery
The Currency Issue
Economic Depression
Immigration
Farmers and Laborers
Nativism and the A.P.A.
Racial Prejudice
Sectional Interests
Strikes
The Supreme Court
The Tariff
Trusts and Monopolies
U.S. Foreign Relations
Woman Suffrage
Women in the Campaign
Popular Culture in the 1890s
Special Features
1896 at Vassar College
Bibliography
Teaching 1896: Classroom Ideas
A Vassar College Website
Created by Rebecca Edwards, Assistant Professor of History
and
Sarah DeFeo, Vassar '99
with help from students in
History 276, "A House Divided: The United States, 1830-1890," and with
Profuse Thanks to:
Michael Joyce
Vassar CELT (Center for Electronic Learning & Teaching),
especially Chris Asta '03 (for extensive help with images) and Sarah Torre '01
Vassar College Library
. . . with special appreciation to Sabrina Pape, Kathy Kurosman, and Robin Walsh
The Ford Scholar Program of Vassar College
The Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities
H-Net: History Online
Edward Ayers, University of Virginia
Anne Rubin, University of Virginia
Fitzhugh Brundage, University of Florida
Ray Hyser, James Madison University
Robert Phipps, West Virginia University
Shira Jacobs, Vassar '96
Heather Harmon, Vassar '97
Daniel Rosan, Vassar '00
Kate Stewart, Vassar '01
© 2000, Rebecca Edwards, Vassar College