My Political Cartoon: The States Gain Higher Ground

My political cartoon addresses the fact that the Articles of Confederation was unable to maintain control over army recruits. The title “The States Gain Higher Ground”, sheds more light onto the flaw, as the states held a high advantage over the national government. The title is a bit metaphorical and literal at the same time, because the State Government is portrayed as perching on upper land much higher than the Congress in my cartoon. This blemish on the national government’s cherished first constitution would have been fatal to the states as its army would become very weak – mainly because the states had the power to decline giving up able bodied men. However, it was not the Articles of Confederation’s only weakness. Another would be its economic disorganization,

Looking at the picture brings your eye to the bald eagle mother standing on the cliff. She is symbolic for the state government. Her outstretched wing and the phrase she is saying is representative for the protective way the government safeguarded their citizens. The bald eagle baby is suggestive of a healthy young “able-bodied man” and their nest represents the state. Notice that they are indeed on higher ground, thus holding an advantage over the vulture striving to wing its way up. This vulture is emblematic of Congress. It is holding rotten meat (yes it’s meat, I tried, really I did), which is figurative for the Articles of Confederation. The decaying meat is actually weighing the vulture down – observe the drop of sweat on its head – and the vulture must make a choice: the eagle baby or keep the meat. However, the greedy vulture or congress doesn’t seem to understand that and is bent on having them both. And so it comes down to the reality that Congress must let go of the meat that is burdening it, and go after what it really needs, which is the eagle, or in actuality, the strong fit