Abstract
Block treated the news of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination with a combination of disbelief, shock, and horror. His November 23, 1963, cartoon depicted a strikingly diverse group of Americans standing in front of the stars and stripes at half-mast, their heads bowed in grief. The cartoon’s caption was a line from Kennedy’s inaugural address: “With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love.”¹ The cartoons published over the next several days saw Block further process his grief, first imagining a family still