Political Cartoon 8

The issue this cartoon is exploring is whether or not the United States was justified in building the Panama Canal. The United States had sent their navy to Columbia and a revolution occurred. Then, as a result, the nation of Panama was born. This cartoon shows America arriving in Panama with swords for force, and shovels to dig. The ship, which looks a huge elephant, is not going to let anything get in its way. Roosevelt has arrived and he will get what he needs to help the United States. The opposing, imperialistic opinion, is that the United States is justified in building a canal since we need to have access to the shortest route between the oceans for trading and military purposes. Some people might also think we belonged there to continue to spread democracy.

The cartoonist uses exaggeration and symbolism in this political cartoon. Roosevelt’s body, and the size of the ship, are both exaggerated. They are both almost as big as the entire country of Panama. This shows how powerful the United States is. The elephant symbolizes that the republicans have arrived in Panama, and that they are very interested in getting what they want. This cartoon supports my anti-imperialism viewpoint because Roosevelt should not have barged into Panama, armed and ready to get what he wanted. He took something that wasn’t his for his own selfish reasons. He wanted a shorter route to support our trade and military. Also, I believe he cheated Columbia out of land that was rightfully theirs.

""Coup D'Etat" A Political Cartoon about the Panama Canal." Group 4s US Foreign Relations Blog. N.p., 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 07 Feb. 2016. <https://history204group4.wordpress.com/2013/09/12/coup-detat-a-

Political Cartoon 7

The issue this political cartoon is exploring is the Spanish-American War. The cartoonist’s message is that Uncle Sam wants to take Cuba all for himself, at all costs, and he is reaching out his enormous hands to grab Cuba.  The cartoonist’s message is that Uncle Sam was acting selfishly. The opposing view could be that we actually did need to help Cuba because Spain was ruling over them. The Spaniards needed to be out of North America so that democracy could prevail. Also, the United States needed to be able to build factories and military bases in Cuba.

The cartoonist uses exaggeration and irony for persuasion. Exaggeration is present because Uncle Sam is very big. The cartoonist did this to make him look like he was very greedy as he reaches over to get Cuba. There is irony in this cartoon since it appears that some people are actually swimming towards Uncle Sam for help, even though he looks so greedy and selfish. America wants to put factories and military bases in Cuba. However, this will pollute their land. This supports my view that America was not justified in being imperialistic because it shows that Uncle Sam is taking land that isn’t his and he is taking the land for his own selfish reasons.

"Spanish-American War." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2016. 

Political Cartoon 6

This Political cartoon is about the Roosevelt Corollary. The cartoonist’s message is that America is taking over other countries by force. He is using his financial power to control other counties. In this cartoon, Roosevelt has a big stick, and he is acting like a policeman to control people all around the eastern hemisphere.  The opposing opinion is that the people actually needed our help and support and so they welcomed us into their country. They may think that we needed to intervene in their issues so that democracy and peace could spread.

Some techniques that are presented in this cartoon are analogy and exaggeration. Analogy is used in this political cartoon by comparing Roosevelt to a policeman. The cartoonist put this in the cartoon because it shows that we are going to put laws on the eastern hemisphere and enforce them. Exaggeration is used in this cartoon by making Roosevelt look bigger than all the other people. The cartoonist did this to show Roosevelt has power over everyone else. This cartoon supports my anti-imperialism viewpoint because it shows how we are using power when we shouldn’t. The United States should not be ruling over other countries and imposing our beliefs about democracy on them.

"Today in Social Sciences...": Some Cartoons about the Monroe Doctrine and Roosevelt Corollary. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2016. <http://todayinsocialsciences.blogspot.com/2013/04/some-cartoons-about-monroe-doctrine-and.html>.

Political Cartoon 5

This political cartoon is about the purchase of Alaska. The cartoonist’s message is that America just bought a huge hunk of ice for 7.3 million dollars. Seward is wheeling off his hunk of ice and the British are taking the 7.3 million dollars with them. The counter argument to this would be that it was good for us to buy Alaska because there is so much potential to the vast Alaska land. Alaska has resources that could help us financially.

Symbolism and exaggeration are used for persuasion in this cartoon. Symbolism used in this cartoon because the cartoonist is showing that he thinks that Alaska is just a worthless piece of ice. Also, the cartoonist uses exaggeration to make the men’s heads very big. It is as though they are too selfish to realize they just spend so much money on some ice. This cartoon supports my view that America should not have bought Alaska, and that we were acting too imperialistically by spending so much money on something that would be of no value to us.

"Political Cartoon - Alaska 1867." Political Cartoon - Alaska 1867. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2016. <https://sites.google.com/site/alaska1867turnup/olitical-cartoon-3>.

Political Cartoon 4

This political cartoon is about the open door policy. The cartoonist’s massage is that Uncle Sam took the key of China and opened up their doors when that is not what they wanted. He uses a giant key to open the doors for his own selfish reasons. The cartoonist is showing that we imposed our rules on China. The opposing view is that it was necessary to have the open door policy so that democracy could spread. Also, the opposing view would be that we needed the open door policy so we could trade freely with China and the East, and that we needed access to resources in China so we could have more money.

The techniques of persuasion that are present in this cartoon are exaggeration and symbolism.  The key is so large which shows our dominance over a country that was less powerful than us. The cartoonist also put details on the door to symbolize Chinese traditions and culture. This cartoon supports my position that America was not justified in opening up China’s doors to force them to trade with everyone. We used our power to force them into this and that isn’t fair. We were not respecting their viewpoints and their beliefs by telling them how their government should be.

"Open Door Policy U.S.A." Scoop.it. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2016. <http://www.scoop.it/t/open-door-policy-u-s-a>.