Hassmann, Carl
Carl Hassmann (1869 - 1933) was an artist and cartoonist whose work was published in Puck from at least 1905 until 1910.
Is centralized wealth a threat to the middle class?
The Rising Waters.
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This is a 1906 Carl Hassmann political cartoon lamenting the inequalities in American society and decrying the plight of middle- and lower-class Americans and the ever-increasing threat posed by centralized wealth to these classes. A cartoon that could easily be printed today, Hassmann depicts the Middle Class as a man, woman, and infant dressed in torn clothing and stranded on a rock labeled 'Opportunity.' 'Opportunity' is surrounded by continually rising, shark-infested waters, labeled simply as 'Centralized Wealth.' The Statue of Liberty appears in the background, with the water up to her shoulders. Even in 1906, Americans were concerned about the amount of wealth held by the elite and the distance between the haves and the have-nots. An unregulated economy and corporate abuses (at least the second part of that sounds very familiar) caused Americans to worry about their future and the threats that concentrated wealth posed to the average American and to liberty itself. (more details)