By the Students, For the Students: 1930s Political Cartoons

During the 1930s students across the county were visioning a new way of life. Plagued by hardships from the stock market crash, students began demanding social change. College students specifically began organizing around Higher Education reform. Youth were not happy with how their universities were being run. One of the ways students voiced their opinions was through student run newspapers and magazines. Political cartoons were often featured in these publications. These cartoons portrayed qualms students had with university systems. Below are some examples of illustrations from student newspapers during this time.

(1936)
“The Yale Lock”.

The political cartoon (above) was featured in the Yale University newspaper The Student Advocate in 1936. The illustration centers around a college graduate whose mouth is under lock and key. This cartoon, suggests that youth during the 1930s felt they were chained to their education.This image also suggests that students felt that they did not have a voice. Perhaps that in order to graduate and earn a degree they had to be silent and comply with corrupt institutional values.

Political Cartoon featured in The Student Call in 1934.

The cartoon (above) was featured in the New York University student newspaper The Student Call. The image is titled “Vested Interests” and was published in March 1934.  highlights how students felt about  the administration running universities. This illustration suggests that youth felt like puppets being controlled by university administrators. Administrators and trustees dictated the college experience for most colleges. This image suggests that students felt that their voices were not being heard by officials.

Political cartoon titled “No Help Wanted” was printed by the National Student League

This image (above) was created by George Price and Louis Lapchek. The two were members of the National Student League. This illustration portrays how Higher Education was treated like a business. The cartoon shows a wealthy man guiding students like cattle into a university. The man collects money with each student that passes through the building. However, on the flip side, students graduating from the college are shown not being able to be hired. This cartoon suggests that students in the 1930s were questioning the education system.  Why were students being pushed into the education system and not earning jobs? In addition, why were students being treated like a commodity? Why was higher education being treated like a business rather than a place of learning? These were questions students were demanding answers to during the 1930s.

During the 1930s political cartoons were an easy way for students voice their opinions about Higher Education. Illustrations could be easily printed and distributed. What is so striking about these cartoons is they highlight student concerns today. Today students are concerned rising tuition prices and weight of student debt. Student newspapers are not as utilized in spreading political opinions as they were in the 1930s. Instead social media sites such a Facebook, Twitter, and Instragram are used. The closets medium to political cartoons of the millennial generations are memes. There are a wide collection of political memes that highlight many social issues. Below are some examples of memes today that highlight Higher Education reform. 

Popular meme about student debt.

Popular meme about student loans.

Popular meme about tuition prices.

Wether it be 1930 or 2013, students have found ways to voice their political opinions. Political cartoons in student newspapers and memes reposted on social media sites have given students the chance to speak out about higher education corruption. It is quite remarkable the similarities between student frustrations today and during the Great Depression.

By: Meghan Long

Causes For Protest: Then and Now

Causes For Protest Then and Now:

NSA’s Anti-War Protest 1930’s	Occupy Wall-Street Movement 2011
Stock Market Bubble	Housing Bubble
Wealth In Hands of Top 5%	Income Inequality and Wealth Distribution “we are the 99%!”
End Censorship of Student Newspapers and Permit Students to Choose Which Political Organization They Affiliate With.	Liberation of Flow of Information. End Government Censorship of Media Coverage Related to War and Politics.
Not Enough Regulation on Banks (Risky Speculation)	Accountability of Institutions of Power. Stop Debt Increases (Mortgages, Student Loans, Credit Cards)
Create More Work Programs and Aid For Us Citizens. Provide Work For US Citizens.	End Outsourcing of Jobs. Establish Fair Working Wage.
Avoid Interfering With Foreign Wars or Conflicts	End Imperialist Doctrine. Stay Out of the Middle-East

During both of these movements the people involved felt united in their plight against the injustices of capitalism. Both groups saw war as a capitalistic outgrowth of expansion, imperialism and rivalry. The wealth inequality that existed nearly a hundred years ago is only worse today and when that is coupled by a high rate of unemployment people are drawn towards more socialist forms of government for answers. In both cases this immediately creates opposition as anything except strict capitalism is viewed as “un-American” or “anti-democracy”. This is a troublesome realization. Why are people continually ostracized and/or attacked for looking for answers to end economic problems through other forms of government?

Partly this is because our nation was originally founded on capitalist ideals. Settlers, colonists, and immigrants were all looking for a better life, a chance to increase their wealth and social standing. That was the great thing about this “new” country at the time, there was no preexisting upper class controlling all the wealth. It was possible for anyone to climb the ladder and make something more of themselves (as long as they were male and white that is). This is what the American dream is all about, we have been duped and spoon-fed myths about the ‘land of opportunity’. Our nation began to cling to capitalism even stronger after propaganda campaigns during foreign wars. The government succeeded in turning anything resembling communism into America’s enemy. The ‘Red Scare’ during the Cold War is just one of the many examples.

The opportunity for expansion and ‘rags to riches’ mentality has changed quite a bit in today’s world. As time continued the wealth of our nation became more and more concentrated at the top. Those who are part of the bourgeoisie class own a larger and larger percentage of the wealth every year. “By 1910 the top one percent of the United States Population received more than a third of all personal income, while the bottom fifth got less than one eighth… In 1950 physicians made two and a half times what unionized industrial workers made but now make six times as much.” (James Loewen, 209) Today these inequalities are even more drastic. “From 2002 to 2007, the average inflation-adjusted income of the top 1 percent of households rose 62 percent, compared to 4 percent for the bottom 90 percent of households.” CBPP These income and wealth inequalities are rising exponentially and this will not improve at all as long as the proletariat remain alienated from their labor. Capitalism gives us the illusion of freedom and equal opportunity, when in reality it enslaves most of its citizens in debt and suffering unshared by the upper class. These debts and hardships get passed down to our future generations making it even harder to become one of the successful examples our society loves to cling to.

The cause for protest hasn’t changed much since our predecessors first started demonstrating against war, wealth inequality, and unemployment. If anything these problems have only gotten worse. However this simply proves that we are not alone. This is not a new fight, we are battling for the same freedoms and rights of our great or even great-great-grandparents. Inequality is the byproduct of capitalism and we are all united in our struggle against it.