Judge — March 23, 1895 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of "The Free-Trade Lamb Taken Care Of" This 1893 *Judge* cartoon satirizes the effects of free-trade policy on American wool producers. The illustration depicts a woman (representing American interests) holding a lamb labeled "free trade wool," with a goat at her side. The accompanying verse describes Grover (likely President Cleveland, who championed free trade) taking the lamb, which "enjoyed a pill" and subsequently suffered from illness—suggesting free-trade policies made the wool industry sick. The cartoon argues that free-trade wool imports harmed domestic American wool producers and workers. The satirical premise equates trade policy to poisoning: what seemed beneficial ("a pill") actually damaged the vulnerable domestic industry, portrayed as a defenseless lamb requiring protection rather than exposed to foreign competition.