Mr. DeCarlo
APUSH- 2nd period
2 October 2018
Political Cartoon #2
The “Rise it Will” political cartoon was published in the Massachusetts Centinel in 1788. Each column represents a state in the order that they ratified the Constitution. The two pillars at the end represent North Carolina and Rhode Island, and they are falling down because they had not yet ratified the Constitution like the other states. The poem at the bottom of the cartoon compares the states that had ratified the Constitution as stars within a dome. In other words, those states (represented as pillars in the cartoon) keep the dome (the constitution) stable. The title “Rise it Will” refers to the belief that all of the states would eventually support the Constitution.
The Cartoonist developed this cartoon in order to encourage others that the Constitution would soon be ratified by every state. He acknowledges the fact that only eleven states had ratified the Constitution thus far, but he believes the North Carolina and Rhode Island can still do the same. This is made obvious by the words “The foundation good- it may yet be saved” next to the crumbling pillars, as well as the hand holding North Carolina pillar and preventing it from hitting the ground. The Cartoonist included these details to highlight the fact that the last two states were not completely out of the question concerning the ratification of the Constitution.
The “Rise it Will” cartoon helped encourage hopeful Americans that the Constitution would soon be ratified by all thirteen states. It was correct in predicting that North Carolina and Rhode Island would soon ratify the Constitution. This cartoon also further supported the idea of unified states under one Constitution (pillars supporting one “dome”). This cartoon depicted the Constitution as a crucial step in building a strong country, and viewed the lack of North Carolina and Rhode Island’s ratification as something that would turn around with time.
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