Judge — April 17, 1926 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "We Have the Charleston" This page satirizes the Charleston dance craze of the 1920s. The headline presents the Charleston as a commodity or possession—"we have" it—suggesting American cities are competing to claim the trendy dance. Each panel mocks a different city's relationship to the Charleston: - **Detroit**: A couple hesitantly embracing, captioned "Why not the Detroit" - **Chicago**: Energetic dancers performing wildly - **Boston**: Intellectuals reading about it rather than dancing - **Philadelphia**: A couple sleeping through it all The satire targets how different American cities adopted (or failed to adopt) the Charleston, reflecting regional stereotypes—Chicago's boisterous energy, Boston's cerebral distance, Philadelphia's perceived stuffiness. The joke assumes readers recognize these regional character tropes and the Charleston's status as a defining cultural phenomenon of the Jazz Age.