Theodore Roosevelt: Trust Buster? Cartoon Analysis By Randall D. Gates Overview "The Trust Buster" is one of Theodore Roosevelt Roosevelt's nicknames.  He hated trusts and spent much time trying to eliminate them. This lesson uses one of the many "Trust Buster" cartoons characterizing Roosevelt's efforts to control these large business entities. Cartoons are a great way to interest and pull students into the stories of history.  This lesson is designed as an introductory lesson for middle school and high school; it is very flexible and may be used as a short exercise. A single cartoon is herein provided, but others can be used to extend the lesson.  Worksheets to guide the cartoon analysis can very simply follow the model provided.  The instructor can research the Internet or use texts to produce sets of cartoons, which can be packaged for historical presentations backed by the curriculum text.  They are much more effective when linked to the students' current chapter readings.  The lesson may be used effectively several times a year to allow the student individual analysis. Background Information Theodore Roosevelt was a skillful mediator.  In addition to mediating labor strikes such as the 1902 Coal Strike, and the Treaty of Portsmouth to end the war between Japan and Russia in 1906, he also used his skills to deal with the question of trusts.  Roosevelt did not want to eliminate corporations but he did dislike trusts and thought they should be crushed.  However the way they acted was more important to Roosevelt than their size and he only tried to check their actions if they were oppressive to the public.  He used the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 to attack trusts filing suits in court against entities, including beef, oil, steel, sugar, and tobacco trusts.  In all he filed 44 antitrust suits.  While the government won a number of these lawsuits, breaking up many trusts, this did not stop the business mergers from taking place. Objectives Students will: View a political cartoon and identify its subject Analyze the caricatures and define their characteristics as displayed Identify the issue being satirized Determine on the timeline where this cartoon was probably used Time Required One 50-minute period for middle school students, less for more advanced classes.  This is an ideal homework assignment for 11th grade students. Materials The American President video " An Office and Its Powers" The American President website biographies Cartoon Analysis Worksheet (Handout #1) Other Political Cartoons for overhead display to open lesson Other cartoons (best used on overhead), or copied if you choose to use as a group activity Initial Motivation Display on the overhead a half dozen or more various political cartoons, from Thomas Nast to yesterday's paper.  They need to be humorous to gain the student's initial interest.  Have the class quickly view them and ask for comments. Procedures 1. Introduce the lesson using the overhead as described in the Initial Motivation. 2. Distribute worksheet(s) and cartoon(s) (or use overhead display).  Direct students to fill out the worksheet(s) using their texts, the Internet biography of Theodore Roosevelt, or other library or classroom resources. 3. After 15 minutes, review the cartoon(s) with the entire class.  Use the current curriculum unit to tie in with the cartoon to provide students with a clear understanding of the day's lesson.  Note:  This lesson can be done as homework for more advanced students and reviewed as class begins to set up a discussion of Roosevelt and his trust busting efforts (or any other subject that the cartoons might address). Assessment The quality of analysis put forth by the student in the worksheet analysis will be used to grade the effort.  Class participation of the material reviewed from the chapter supporting the cartoon(s) will also be included in the grade for the day. Additional Resources Internet Sites The American President website image galleries and biographies http://www.cartoonweb.com http://www.whistlestop.org http://www.alllaw.com/community_and_culture/politics/cartoons Library Resources Political cartoon collections Daily newspaper and news magazines Other biography resources Interdisciplinary Connections A combined art and social studies effort follows nicely from this simple worksheet activity.  Students could be encouraged to draw their own cartoons for student or teacher review. Randall D. Gates teaches social studies, science and math in the Conejo Valley School District in California. Handout #1 "T.R. AND THE TRUSTS"   ANALYZING POLITICAL CARTOONS   Title of the cartoon:   Subject:     What caricatures are involved?       What is the issue being presented?       What is the artist's viewpoint on the issue?       Discuss the textbook timeline and historical event that is presented in the cartoon: