The Spanish-American War

This political cartoon is about the Spanish American War. The cartoonist’s message here is that the United States is spreading way too far. An example of this is that Uncle Sam is stretching his hands out over the Spanish colonies. He has an eager look on his face. The cartoonist did not like the fact that after the war, America had seized Cuba, the Philippines and Puerto Rico. It is possible that the cartoonist was from Spain or one of the countries America had seized. Another opinion that could be had was that America had taken the Spanish colonies as a reward or spoil of the war.

One technique that the artist used was symbolism, because Uncle Sam represents the United States and to symbolizing the taking of the Spanish colonies, he is shown stretching his reach out over the colonies. Another technique used was labeling, because Uncle Sam has his feet on a mass of land labeled Estados Unidos, or in Spanish United States. Uncle Sam is reaching for a little mass of land labeled Cuba. The labeling is important because otherwise, I would not have understood what he was reaching for. This cartoon supports anti-imperialism, because Uncle Sam is portrayed with a greedy or eager look on his face. Since being greedy or eager to expand is imperialistic, it portrays that this form of imperialism is not good, it’s evil.