William Charles: The first major 'meme' creator

Contrary to popular belief, memes do not originate from the 21st century. Shocking, I know.

William Charles was the actual first major American cartoonist. Some of his most notable characters include "John Bull" and "Brother Jonathan."

For those who are unfamiliar with his work, see for yourself below:

Charles focuses on the War of 1812 between the British and the United States in the political cartoon above. Image retrieved from Philadelphia Encyclopedia 

In the above image, Charles depicts England as "John Bull" on the left side. On the right side, Charles depicts the United States as "Brother Jonathan." 

"The blood pouring from the king's nose represents the loss of the British warship 'Boxer' in its naval 'boxing match' with the American frigate 'Enterprise,'" said Brandon Borrelli in a March 2016 Philadelphia Encyclopedia article. 

"This cartoon was intended to raise American spirits and bolster patriotism in a back-and-forth war often referred to as "the Second War of American Independence," Borrelli added. 

Nonetheless, political cartoons -- or memes if you prefer -- have been around for quite some time. However, they may look a little different, especially with the help of a computer.

Here are what some look like today: 

Image retrieved from LiveAbout

The meme above is definitely not as intricate in detail as compared to Charles's cartoons, but perhaps it still gives you a laugh.

Some political cartoons can also look like the below image:

Image retrieved from The Mercury News

Nowadays, making memes -- or political cartoons -- is relatively simple, considering the vast amount of resources online. Similar to other individuals my age, I have also created my own memes too, some political, some inside jokes with friends and pretty much anything else in between. Some can take a couple minutes to make, while others are more thought-out. 

And that's the beauty of memes, you can make it anything you want. You want to make a meme about how you dislike the president? Go ahead. You want to make a meme about something outlandish your friend did? make a meme about it.

When in doubt, make a meme about it. Maybe William Charles would have done that too.