Analysis Of 1900 Re-Election Poster For Mckinley

The artwork illustrated in chapter nine, titled 1900 Re-Election Poster for McKinley (pg.335) was an advertisement poster in 1900, created by an unknown artist. The aim of the advertisement was to promote citizens to vote for his re-election, during a pleasantly convenient time of economical boom. The illustration depicts McKinley standing triumphantly atop a gold coin. Below him, he is supported by a group of youthful men who are told to be soldiers, sailors, and businessmen. The background pictures a flourishing industry, which McKinley was lucky enough to have such a victory adorn his former presidency. Many people of the upper-class and working-class felt as though his promises in office were in support of their needs, hence he won the second election. When I first analyzed this picture, I spent some time focused on the people below McKinley. It is important to take note that all of the individuals supporting (essentially holding up) McKinley in the image were at least modestly well-off white males. There are no women supporting him, let alone African Americans. I felt as though this aspect of the image alone gave a bit of insight on the social times of McKinley 's presidency. Although I am not particularly surprised about

Generally in politics, people support those who promise to support them. With this being said, I feel as though the artist portrayed this in a clever way. Not only are the businessmen, soldiers and sailors literally supporting McKinley in the image, yet they are supporting him in a political sense as well. In addition to this, I believe that the artist was symbolizing wealth and prosperity with the gold coin platform that McKinley proudly stands on. I feel as though the overall message of the piece is that with the support of common citizens, McKinley was able to leave behind a successful economy for his people. This is effectively illustrated by the booming industry in the background, and the citizens supporting McKinley up on a gold