Editing Cartoon (section)

===Political===
{{main|Political cartoon}}

Political cartoons are like illustrated editorials that serve visual commentaries on political events. They offer subtle criticism which are cleverly quoted with humour and satire to the extent that the criticized does not get embittered.

The pictorial satire of [[William Hogarth]] is regarded as a precursor to the development of political cartoons in 18th century England.{{sfn|Press|1981|page=34}} [[George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend|George Townshend]] produced some of the first overtly political cartoons and caricatures in the 1750s.{{sfn|Press|1981|page=34}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Birth+of+England%27s+pocket+cartoon%3B+LOCAL+HISTORY+Smile+awhile+through...-a0153110971| title=Birth of England's pocket cartoon|author=Chris Upton|publisher=The Free Library}}</ref> The medium began to develop in the latter part of the 18th century under the direction of its great exponents, [[James Gillray]] and [[Thomas Rowlandson]], both from London. Gillray explored the use of the medium for lampooning and [[caricature]], and has been referred to as the father of the political cartoon.{{sfn|Rowson|2015}} By calling the king, prime ministers and generals to account for their behaviour, many of Gillray's satires were directed against [[George III of the United Kingdom|George III]], depicting him as a pretentious buffoon, while the bulk of his work was dedicated to ridiculing the ambitions of [[revolutionary France]] and [[Napoleon]].{{sfn|Rowson|2015}} [[George Cruikshank]] became the leading cartoonist in the period following Gillray, from 1815 until the 1840s. His career was renowned for his social caricatures of English life for popular publications.

[[File:Tammany Ring, Nast crop.jpg|thumb|Nast depicts the [[Tweed Ring]]: "Who stole the people's money?" / {{" '}}Twas him."|alt=A cartoon showing a circle of men pointing their fingers at the man to their right with grimaces on their faces.]]

By the mid 19th century, major political newspapers in many other countries featured cartoons commenting on the politics of the day. [[Thomas Nast]], in New York City, showed how realistic German drawing techniques could redefine American cartooning.{{sfn|Adler|Hill|2008|p=24}} His 160 cartoons relentlessly pursued the criminal characteristic of the [[William M. Tweed|Tweed machine]] in New York City, and helped bring it down. Indeed, Tweed was arrested in Spain when police identified him from Nast's cartoons.{{sfn|Adler|Hill|2008|pp=49–50}} In Britain, Sir [[John Tenniel]] was the toast of London.{{sfn|Morris|Tenniel|2005|p=344}} In France under the [[July Monarchy]], [[Honoré Daumier]] took up the new genre of political and social [[La Caricature (1830–1843)|caricature]], most famously lampooning the rotund [[Louis Philippe I|King Louis Philippe]].

Political cartoons can be humorous or satirical, sometimes with piercing effect. The target of the humor may complain, but can seldom fight back. Lawsuits have been very rare; the first successful lawsuit against a cartoonist in over a century in Britain came in 1921, when [[J. H. Thomas]], the leader of the [[National Union of Railwaymen]] (NUR), initiated libel proceedings against the magazine of the [[British Communist Party]]. Thomas claimed defamation in the form of cartoons and words depicting the events of "Black Friday", when he allegedly betrayed the locked-out [[Miners' Federation of Great Britain|Miners' Federation]]. To Thomas, the framing of his image by the far left threatened to grievously degrade his character in the popular imagination. Soviet-inspired communism was a new element in European politics, and cartoonists unrestrained by tradition tested the boundaries of libel law. Thomas won the lawsuit and restored his reputation.<ref>Samuel S. Hyde, {{" '}}Please, Sir, he called me "Jimmy!' Political Cartooning before the Law: 'Black Friday', J.H. Thomas, and the Communist Libel Trial of 1921", ''Contemporary British History'' (2011) '''25'''(4), pp. 521–550.</ref>