Americans can trace their country's history through political cartoons. From Benjamin Franklin's "Join or Die" in 1754, considered to be the first American political cartoon, to the pages of Puck from 1876 to 1918 and all the way to yesterday's depictions of the current President and his administration, cartoonists have continued to lay bare the political sentiments of the country. Political cartoons use humor and exaggeration to focus attention on serious issues. Does this form of social commentary work? Have editorial cartoonists influenced politics?

Ben Franklin's cartoon snake became a symbol of the Revolutionary cause. During the Civil War period, political parties and politicians provided plenty of fodder for the cartoonist's pen. Harper's Weekly was especially prolific during this time. Puck is said to have influenced the election of 1884. After Puck published Bernard Gillam's wildly popular "Illustrated Man" that detailed his corruption in tattoo art, James Blaine lost to Grover Cleveland. Perhaps the most famous example of a political cartoonist's influence on American politics is Thomas Nast's open war against New York's "Boss" Tweed and Tammany Hall. In more recent history, many of the political cartoons published during the Vietnam War were scathing and extremely popular. Today, cartoonists like Pat Oliphant regularly generate controversy with their work.

Political cartoons have long been a part of newspaper and periodical culture. As the number of daily papers decrease, the Internet has filled the resulting gap in political cartoon coverage. Many online publications make available not only today's cartoons, but yesterday's, last week's and last year's. Also readily accessible is information about cartoons and cartoonists, such as a list the winners of the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning. History buffs can now see images of, and find information about, cartoons all the way back to "Join or Die" and the beginnings of American political cartoons.

To learn more about the history of American political cartoons:

• Presidential Election Cartoons and More: A wealth of information about political cartoons and cartoonists. Includes an extensive collection of political cartoons published in leading journals that cover U.S. elections from 1860 to 1912.
• America in Caricature: An online exhibit of and about political cartoons from 1775 to 1865 that presents a cartoon's eye view of politics from revolutionary times through the election of President Lincoln.
• Thomas Nast: All about the "World of Thomas Nast" and his campaign war against New York's Boss Tweed, with a selection of his political cartoons.
• Five Decades of Herblock: An in-depth look at the political cartoonist Herb Block and his view of politics from 1946 when he arrived at the Washington Post all the way through President Clinton in 2000.
• Oliphant's Anthem: A Library of Congress exhibition celebrating the work of Pulitzer Prize winner Pat Oliphant.
• Baldy Editorial Cartoons: Digital database collection of 2,500 cartoons drawn by Clifford H. Baldowski from 1946 through 1982 and then during 1997.
• Dr. Seuss Goes to War: His inimitable style is unmistakable, but it's a whole different arena for this children's author. Learn about two years in the life of Dr. Seuss when he took on political cartooning.
• FDR Cartoons: From the New Deal to the War Years, the history of Franklin Delano Roosevelt is all here, tied up neatly in political cartoons.
• Harry S. Truman: Cartoons about President Truman, including the work of Bill Mauldin and Staff Sergeant Jake Schuffert's Berlin airlift cartoons.
• Images and Social Commentary: Wide array of work, including images from Joseph Keppler, Thomas Nast and Frederick Opper, among many others.
• A Brief History of Political Cartoons: Part of Dan Backer's "Uniting Mugwumps and the Masses--Puck's Role in Gilded Age Politics" with text and an archive of all the graphics used in the project.
• Andrew Johnson: Harper's Weekly coverage of the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, including political cartoons by Thomas Nast.
• David Horsey: A look at 1999 through the editorial cartoons of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Pulitzer Prize winner, David Horsey.
• Art and History: The Senate holdings of political cartoons and caricatures (1850-1912.)
• Week in Cartoons: Political cartoon slide shows for each week of the year. Twenty cartoons are selected for presentation from those published during that week.
• Today's Cartoons: All about what's happening in the current political cartoon world. From partisan woes to the economy, it's all here.
• Pro Cartoonists Index: From cartoonist Daryl Cagle. RSS Feeds from American cartoonists.
• Association of American Editorial Cartoonists: Online presence of the AAEC. Lots of information about political cartoons and their history.
• The Opper Project: Political cartoon history through lesson plans for the "Opper Project: Using Editorial Cartoons to Teach History."
• Vietnam Era Cartoons: A set of political cartoons from David Levine.
• The Serious Business of Political Cartoons: A University of Kentucky Odyssey magazine article by Jeff Worley.
• J.N. Ding Darling: Collection of cartoons by double Pulitzer Prize winner Jay N. "Ding" Darling.
• Join or Die: Ben Franklin's political cartoon, first published in 1754, is called the first American political cartoon and became a symbol for the Revolutionary cause.
• Washington and Smallpox: An example of political cartooning during Revolutionary times, prompted when George Washington made the decision to vaccinate the troops against smallpox.