Life — October 12, 1928 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Will It Come to This?" - Political Cartoon Analysis This 1948 cartoon satirizes the upcoming presidential election, depicting a crowd watching two scenarios. The dialogue between Ms. Jenkins and Ms. Adams debates whether to vote for Mrs. Ten Eyck or Mrs. Brown, with Adams praising Brown's "courageous stand" on government control of airways. The cartoon's title and dual images suggest anxiety about female political power. The upper scene shows people gathered; the lower shows figures huddled together protectively, labeled "The Whispering Campaign." This visualizes contemporary fears that women voters—newly politically engaged—might elect candidates based on personality and persuasiveness rather than substantive policy, potentially leading to undesirable outcomes. The satire reflects mid-century anxieties about expanding female political participation.