CARICATURES OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS

It's the Fourth of July and what could be a more appropriate for a cartoonist's blog than funny caricatures of the American founding fathers? Unfortunately I set out to find caricatures that were both funny and respectful, which I realized too late was a contradiction of terms. Oh, well...I hope my respect and gratitude for these great men will show through none the less.  

The holiday also prompts me to think of the soldiers who gave their lives during the War of Independence. More than the battles I think of the torturous Winter spent at Valley Forge. I can't even imagine what that must have been like.

Those brave soldiers did that so that people like me could could freely elect our own government and could say whatever we like in venues like this blog. A few of those soldiers survived long enough to be photographed in their old age. I'll see if I can find the pictures.

Here's George Washington. He deserves to be at the top of the list rather than the bottom, but I just couldn't find an adequate caricature.

The story about Washington that I most value is the one about his speech to his officers after the war was over. Some among them wondered if he would declare a dictatorship...he certainly had the support of the army if he'd wanted it. Instead, like the Roman general Cincinnatus, he retired from office, handing the army back to the civilians. Geez, what a guy!

Okay, I found some of the photos of Revolutionary War survivors. One of them, Samuel Downing (above), was 102 when the picture was taken. Good Lord! How did he manage to live so long in the era before modern medicine?