Judge — July 4, 1891 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Judge Magazine Cover, July 4, 1891 **"The First Gun: Major McKinley opens the Republican campaign in the west"** This political cartoon depicts Major William McKinley, a prominent Republican politician, as a military figure firing a cannon. The "first gun" metaphor represents the opening salvo of the Republican Party's campaign strategy heading into the 1892 election cycle. The military imagery—McKinley in uniform beside an artillery piece with smoke billowing—satirizes the aggressive, combative nature of political campaigns by comparing them to warfare. The caption's reference to "the west" suggests McKinley was launching campaign efforts in that region. This uses martial language common to 1890s political discourse, treating electoral contests as battles requiring ammunition and strategy rather than reasoned debate.