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Category: Development of the Industrial United States (1877-1914)

Illustration shows a fat businessman reclining on a large coin, basking in the bright light of "Special Privilege" while dreaming of castles in the air; on the other side of the coin is factory life in dark and polluted Pittsburgh, and where factory workers struggle to flip the coin blocking the light from their city and their lives.

The Price of Pollution: Helping Students Visualize Relationships Between Economic Concepts and Environmental Issues with a 1909 Political Cartoon

Posted by: Colleen Smith

In the March/April 2025 issue of Social Education, the journal of the National Council for the Social Studies, our “Sources and Strategies” article highlighted a political cartoon that appeared in the September 22, 1909, issue of Puck Magazine. The image, “Lights and Shadows”, contains a wealth of opportunities for students to explore connections between the environment, politics, economics, and public health.

Posted in: Development of the Industrial United States (1877-1914), Science Technology and Math, Teaching Strategies