Political Cartoon during Spanish-American War Essay Example

numerous failed rebellions from the Cubans and they were looking up for other powerful countries like the United States to help them attain their independence from the brutal Spanish leaders. However, United States, known as Uncle Sam that time seemed to be turning a blind eye to the plight of the Cubans. This is why Uncle Sam is illustrated as being blindfolded in the political cartoon as he is unable to see the suffering of the child in chains.

Even though the cartoon shows the 17th century America, there are various biases that are associated with the cartoon. The nature of the Spanish rule in its colonies has obviously been biased. For one, Spain used to consider Cuba as party of its country rather than a colony and therefore the much brutality that is been advocated in the cartoon is subjective and not objective. There are a lot of words that has been used to describe the nature of the Spanish rule in its American colonies. The Judge Magazine cartoon is a kind of tool used to spread propaganda about the “atrocities” committed by the Spanish rule against its American colonies. The political cartoon is used to paint the Spanish people as brutally evil and this is the imagery that they used to spread propaganda throughout the American continent. The cartoon shows that the Spanish people are imposing their rule in the Cubans through shedding blood of the citizens.

The political cartoon image also shows the facts before the beginning of the Spanish-American War. The Cuban people were suffering because they were trying to fight for the independence of their own country and the Spanish people were

not letting them do that. They wanted Cuba to be a part of the Spanish nation. However, the extreme brutality advocated in the image is propaganda to drive people to the brink of the war between America and Spain. Maybe the illustrations on the cartoon were intended for people to be against the Spanish people and to support America in their war against the Spanish because they had some interests in some of the Spanish colonies like Cuba.

Reference

• Tucker, Spencer. The Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars: A Political, Social, and Military History. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2009.
• Manning, Martin J., and Clarence R. Wyatt. Encyclopedia of Media and Propaganda in Wartime America. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2011.
• Davis, Robert Nathan. Race and Political Cartoons During the Spanish-American War and Filipino Insurrection: Ideology and the American Consciousness, 1898-1902. Lexington, Ky: publisher not identified, 2007.
• Lammoglia, Jose A. The Spanish American War Through the Eyes of a Political Cartoonist. 1999.
• Spencer,Tucker. The Encyclopedia of the Spanish-American and Philippine-American Wars: A Political, Social, and Military History. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2009. p. 504
• Martin,Manning J., and Wyatt,Clarence R. Encyclopedia of Media and Propaganda in Wartime America. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2011. p. 393
• Nathan,Davis. Race and Political Cartoons During the Spanish-American War and Filipino Insurrection: Ideology and the American Consciousness, 1898-1902. Lexington, Ky: publisher not identified, 2007.
• Jose Lammoglia A. The Spanish American War Through the Eyes of a Political Cartoonist. 1999.