Judge — July 15, 1893 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This July 1893 *Judge* cartoon satirizes the economic crisis of the early 1890s Depression. The left panel shows a distressed "Uncle Sam" figure buried under lists of catastrophes: bank failures, business collapse, manufacturing decline, and economic panic. The right panel depicts politicians (likely Republican leaders, given the "Republican Rule" reference) celebrating in November 1892, demanding "change" from the previous administration. The cartoon's message: Uncle Sam got the "change" he wanted through electoral change, but conditions actually worsened under the new leadership. The satire criticizes whoever took power for failing to improve—or possibly worsening—the economic crisis, making their campaign promises of improvement hollow.