Life — April 23, 1885 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Political Cartoon Analysis This appears to be a satirical cartoon by Kemble critiquing religious hypocrisy among Puritan ancestry Americans. The central figures are caricatured as descendants of Puritans engaged in worldly vices—the text reads: "How my Puritan ancestors would-have-caught on to this," accompanied by images of men smoking, drinking, and attending church services in contradictory ways. The satire mocks the gap between Puritan forebears' strict morality and their modern descendants' indulgences. Captions reference "A shave and a sermon" and "No going to church without your breakfast," suggesting religion has become routine rather than meaningful. The final panel references "savage bread with a genuine unadulterated Brooklyn sermon," implying commercial/urban American religion lacks authenticity compared to ancestral piety. The cartoon critiques moral decline and religious superficiality among modern Americans.