A complete issue · 16 pages · 1896
Judge — June 6, 1896
# "It Makes Him Sick" - Judge Magazine, June 6, 1896 This political cartoon depicts **Uncle Sam** (the tall figure in star-spangled attire) confronting a smaller, sickly-looking figure labeled with text referencing "American Principles," "Civil Service," and what appears to be corruption-related documents on the ground. Uncle Sam's statement—"You had better give me that cigar, sonny; little boys shouldn't smoke"—suggests he's disciplining someone for inappropriate behavior or corruption. The "sickness" referenced in the title likely refers to how corrupt practices make the nation ill. The 1896 context suggests this relates to **civil service reform debates** of the Gilded Age, when patronage and corruption were major political issues. The cartoon advocates for cleaning up government practices, with Uncle Sam as the moral authority figure intervening.
# A Cruel, Thoughtened Wife The cartoon depicts a woman striking a man with what appears to be a rolling pin or kitchen implement, while he cowers defensively. The accompanying text presents a domestic dispute: the wife accuses the husband of infidelity ("Why did you leave yet wife, William?"), and he responds with weak excuses about being at the club. The wife's response—"Oh, she might as charitably have supposed you were there"—sarcastically suggests his excuse is implausible, implying he was with another woman. The cartoon satirizes marital discord and the domestic sphere, presenting the wife as aggressive and the husband as evasive and unfaithful. It reflects early 20th-century anxieties about marriage, gender relations, and domestic violence, treating the subject as comedic fodder for *Judge*'s readership.
# Analysis of Judge Magazine Page 381 This page contains several distinct satirical pieces typical of early 20th-century Judge magazine humor: **"A Great Relief"** (top): A domestic scene where a man leaves his wife, promising never to return. The satire targets marital discord. **"Judgments from Mr. McGarvey"**: Political/social commentary dismissing concerns about boxing politics and war in England, suggesting fatalism about social problems. **"Studies"** (bottom): Four nearly identical sketched heads of a woman showing different expressions, captioned with escalating scenarios ("Here come six men"→"Five men and a woman"→"Three men and a woman"→"Six women"), satirizing women's reactions to different social situations—likely mocking contemporary attitudes about female behavior and propriety. The page reflects period attitudes toward gender, politics, and entertainment.
# Judge Magazine Page Analysis This page contains three distinct pieces of Civil War-era satire: **"That Twisted Feeling"** (top): A domestic comic strip where a woman asks her husband William why he looks ill. He complains the new political posters disagree with him—likely referring to campaign material from the 1880s-90s. **"A Soldier's Fate"** (center): A sentimental story about two Civil War veterans (Union blue, Confederate gray) reuniting at a monument. The satire is subtle: they trade increasingly absurd anecdotes (a frightened jack-rabbit, old Mother Bickerdyke with a lantern) to distract from their real concern—that one veteran married his friend's widow and later joined the Cuban campaign. The piece mocks how Americans romanticize war while ignoring its actual human costs. **"Prejudice, Partisan and Patriotic"** (bottom): A brief joke about an Irish immigrant (Moller, identified by dialect) betting on a sports game between Orange A.C. and Princeton, assuming Tammany Hall (Irish Democratic machine) operatives can't lose. The page overall satirizes American sentimentality about war, immigrant political allegiances, and partisan tribalism.
