Politics and governance date back to the first civilizations, yet its byproduct—political cartoons—originate in a much more modern era. In 1898, the Spanish-American War ended with the ratification of the Treaty of Paris, and the U.S. acquired nearly all territory of the Spanish Empire. Nearly two decades later, Mexican revolutionary leader Pancho Villa raided Columbus, New Mexico, killing sixteen Americans, forcing the U.S. government to take military action within the bordering country. Despite their amusing depiction, Louis Dalrymple’s “School Begins” and Clifford K. Berryman’s “I’ve Had About Enough of This,” political cartoons point out the flaws of the U.S. in dealing with other nation states and racial groups during American Imperialism
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For instance, the “School Begins,” the cartoon illustrates Uncle Sam hovering over four brown students sitting in front of the classroom, who appear fussy and haughty. Labeled as Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, these four children are symbolic of the territories that the U.S. acquired from the Spanish Empire. In this cartoon, Uncle Sam is forcing the children to learn democracy--a form of autonomy--marked by the book on his desk “U.S. First Lesson in Self Government.” The overstatement of size between Uncle Sam--who represents the American government--and the rest of the people within the image correlates to the fact that the U.S. was establishing their superiority over the territories it recently procured. Although the political cartoon appears to show Uncle Sam teaching democracy to other nations, his exaggerated size highlights the U.S.’s transition of becoming a dominant global country. Moreover, the author depicts a group white students peacefully reading books labeled by states assimilated to the Union after the Mexican War. The U.S. ‘taught’ these white students about self-governance, who were once in the same position as the four colored students. The difference of behavior between the children illustrates how Uncle Sam’s tutoring of autonomy can transform any race into civilized human beings, and simultaneously works to label “white” as “civilized.” The constant addition of new territories through war add to the growing domination of U.S. as a “global power,” and territories that have already received Uncle Sam’s teachings move up the educational
For instance, the “School Begins,” the cartoon illustrates Uncle Sam hovering over four brown students sitting in front of the classroom, who appear fussy and haughty. Labeled as Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, these four children are symbolic of the territories that the U.S. acquired from the Spanish Empire. In this cartoon, Uncle Sam is forcing the children to learn democracy--a form of autonomy--marked by the book on his desk “U.S. First Lesson in Self Government.” The overstatement of size between Uncle Sam--who represents the American government--and the rest of the people within the image correlates to the fact that the U.S. was establishing their superiority over the territories it recently procured. Although the political cartoon appears to show Uncle Sam teaching democracy to other nations, his exaggerated size highlights the U.S.’s transition of becoming a dominant global country. Moreover, the author depicts a group white students peacefully reading books labeled by states assimilated to the Union after the Mexican War. The U.S. ‘taught’ these white students about self-governance, who were once in the same position as the four colored students. The difference of behavior between the children illustrates how Uncle Sam’s tutoring of autonomy can transform any race into civilized human beings, and simultaneously works to label “white” as “civilized.” The constant addition of new territories through war add to the growing domination of U.S. as a “global power,” and territories that have already received Uncle Sam’s teachings move up the educational