Political Caricature in the United States: Grace’s Specials

by Grace Edwards, The University of Akron Political Science, History, Museums & Archives

For my Museums and Archives Certificate capstone project, I created my very own curation of postcards within the larger David P. Campbell postcard collection. I have a political science major, so I decided to include postcards that all share the common theme of political caricature in the United States. This theme is flexible, and includes exaggeration, mockery, satire, embellishment, and distortion; it is not limited to literal caricatures. Postcards that may not appear to be inherently political often are and add to an American political identity. For example, a postcard showing the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile in front of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., does not caricaturize a specific politician and does not scream “Politics!” like some of my other choices do. This postcard illustrates two great American structures, which emphasize each other by the nature of their juxtaposition together.

As I flipped through binders and binders of postcards on my initial search, I tried to be cognizant of the lens through which I viewed these cards. There were many cards with individuals on them who I did not recognize, but I felt like I should. Even as a student of history and political science, there were some political leaders I did not recognize. Finally, I was able to put a name to a face thanks to a backwards image search, but, as I furthered my search, I decided to lean into that bias. My age, paired with the news and media I’ve consumed and haven’t consumed, affects which postcards garner my attention, and which ones fly under my radar, especially with a topic that links so closely with current events and popular culture.

Other prominent themes that coexist in this curation include American history, commercialism, feminism and women’s rights, economic identity, policy issues, racism, patriotism, nationalism, capitalism, social movements, and political commentary. Politics permeates into all these areas, and it has been interesting to see just how prominent a role these postcards take in David Campbell’s larger collection.

The name for this curation comes from the David’s Specials binders, originally named by the donor, and organized as some of his favorite postcards in the collection. Political Caricature in the United States: Grace’s Specials includes some of my favorites, and I hope you’ll enjoy.