During the Gilded Age, political cartoons emerged as a powerful tool to critique societal issues and influential figures, offering a mix of humor, symbolism, and biting commentary. While industrialists like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller were celebrated by some as “captains of industry” for driving progress and innovation, they were vilified by others as “robber barons” who amassed vast wealth at the expense of workers and ethics. This lesson uses political cartoons to explore these conflicting perspectives and the broader inequalities of the era. By analyzing the symbols, exaggeratio