Now through November, the Knight Library is home to several political cartoons of Wayne Morse, the 1945-1969 senator from Oregon, who was known for his strong opposition to the Vietnam War. The cartoons in the exhibit depict Morse as “an independent, one to challenge authority, a peace activist, and an advocate for public power,” says Dr. Margaret Hallock, director of the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics.

On Sept. 30, to help bring a better understanding of the impact political cartoons had during the time of Wayne Morse versus today, the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics brought in Jack Ohman, a political cartoonist who has been publishing since the age of 19.

Growing up in Minnesota, Jack Ohman’s first memory from his childhood is from when he was three years old: the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The gruesome memory was followed by moving to Washington D.C. and experiencing the confusion of the Vietnam war, the assassination and burial of Robert F. Kennedy, the unbelievable executive decisions made by President Richard Nixon to create the Watergate scandal and the burning of Washington D.C. during the 1968 riots. Only one line of career was fit for Ohman: politics.

Ohman returned to Minnesota and had gotten a job driving around a local political candidate at the age of 17. Ohman then realized that he didn’t want to be in politics anymore. “All that time I had been trying to get into politics,” Ohman said. “I was drawing on the side.” Ohman discovered an opening with the Minnesota Daily and his background in local politics and passion for politics in general made him an easy hire.

At 19, Ohman started his 15 minutes of fame when his cartoons were published in Newsweek, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and 200 other newspapers.

When those 15 minutes of fame ended and Ohman was no longer a “20 year-old without a clear face,” he settled down with a couple of newspapers, most notably The Oregonian. After 30 years with The Oregonian, Ohman was offered to fill the spot of his recently deceased best friend at the Sacramento Bee. There, Ohman experienced the power political cartoons still hold today.

Ohman created a cartoon about the Texas chemical plant explosion in April 2013 with Texas Governor Rick Perry, saying “Business is booming in Texas” as the factory is exploding in a juxtaposed panel. Ohman targeted the failure of Perry and the Texas regulations that allowed for the explosion to occur, but Governor Perry and many conservative media outlets spun it as if Ohman was mocking the people killed in the explosion.

“I started to receive death threats. My children’s phone numbers were obtained and they received death threats as well. Political cartoons can still be very powerful,” said Ohman. “Political cartoons can still be a factor if they’re done right, and a lot of them aren’t being done right. Not if they just have a drawing of an elephant or a donkey. If political cartoonists have the passion, [political cartoons] can still be very effective.”