A political cartoon of the Red Scare is a compact visual record of a nation turning on its own fears. On top of that, it captures the moment when political suspicion became a public spectacle, when newspapers and magazines used exaggerated images to warn readers about communism, radicalism, espionage, and the threat to American liberty. Whether it depicts the First Red Scare of 1919–1920 or the Second Red Scare of the 1950s, the cartoon does more than entertain: it reveals what people feared, what authorities chose to stress, and how ordinary citizens were asked to interpret loyalty, patriotism, and danger.
Introduction: The Power of the Political Image
A political cartoon of the
