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CARTOON
Name __________________________ Class _______________ Date ________________
A M E R I C A N H I STO RY P O L I T I C A L C A RTO O N S
Th e Pow e r o f Tr u s t s
Culver Pictures, Inc.
UNDERSTANDING POLITICAL CARTOONS
HRW material copyrighted under notice appearing earlier in this work.
Study the political cartoon, and then answer the questions that follow.
1. What does the image of the people’s entrance suggest?
2. What does the entrance for the trusts symbolize?
3. What does the sign titled “This is a Senate” satirize?
ACTIVITY
Imagine that you are a business owner. Write a letter to your senator to express your
opinion of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Explain your answer using images in the cartoon to
support your opinion.
American History Political Cartoons
33
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Car toon 17: Discussion and Answers
Discussion Guide
The economic and political power of trusts became a concern for the American public
during the late 1800s. (Trusts control many companies in an industry through a single
board of directors.) By lowering prices and fixing costs and expenditures, trusts drove
many smaller companies out of business. For example, John D. Rockefeller and his associates formed the Standard Oil Company of Ohio in 1870. By 1882 the company monopolized nearly all of the U.S. oil industry.
Such a concentration of wealth and economic power dramatically influenced the
landscape of the United States economy. As a result, most Americans were very suspicious
of trusts. Although trusts were capable of efficient production, they usually did so at the
expense of their workers who often earned just enough money for survival. In addition,
by monopolizing entire segments of industry, trusts threatened to squeeze small and
emerging businesses out of existence.
To lessen the effects of trusts on senatorial election, Congress proposed a directelection amendment to the Constitution in 1912. In 1913 the states ratified the Seventeenth
Amendment, which mandated the direct election of senators by the voters of each states.
The following cartoon show the effects that trusts had on U.S. senators and voters.
Answers
UNDERSTANDING POLITICAL CARTOONS
1. voters were ignored by the Senate and people had no influence on how senators voted
2. Only wealthy monopolies or trusts had access to the government.
3. general American belief that government was for the people and by the people
Activity
Students’ letters will be either for or against the Sherman Antitrust Act and should clearly
state their position.
34
American History Political Cartoons
HRW material copyrighted under notice appearing earlier in this work.
In 1890 Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act which prohibited any joint
action by businesses that might restrain free trade. However, little was done to enforce
the Act, and because of its vague language, the Act was difficult for the courts to interpret
but easy for many trusts to circumvent. Furthermore, when a powerful trust gained control
of a state legislature through bribes and undue influence, the trust also gained
control of two Senate seats. Some senators frequently repaid trusts with lucrative federal
contracts, leading much of the public to believe that the Senate was little more than a
puppet for the monopolists.