Uncle Sam Watches over Cuba and the Philippines
Expansion and Imperialism
The Spanish-American War ended in December, 1898, when Spain surrendered to the U.S. and negotiated a peace treaty that sold Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to the U.S. Cuba remained independent, but firmly under the influence of the United States. The Philippine Republic went to war against the U.S. to defend its independence. The brutal war lasted three years, and was followed by a half-century of U.S. occupation of the Philippines. This political cartoon appeared in the conservative <em>Judge</em> magazine in 1902.
Grant Hamilton
Grant Hamilton, <em>Judge</em>, chromolithograph, 14 December 1902.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
1902
1764, 1774, 1988
English
Cartoon
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Uncle Sam Teaches a Class In "Self-Government"
Expansion and Imperialism
In this political cartoon from shortly after the conclusion of the Spanish-American War in 1898, "Uncle Sam" disciplines a class of unruly "children," representing Cuba, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii. The mustachioed figure reading the book at left is General Maximo Gomez, the military commander in Cuba's War of Independence, while the figure wearing the "dunce cap" represents Filipino independence leader Emilio Aguinaldo. While sarcastic touches, such as the "Map of the United States and Neighboring Countries" in the background, suggest the cartoonist may not have entirely approved of the United States' imperial efforts, his work nonetheless exemplifies the paternalistic and racist stereotypes with which Americans of all political stripes tended to view those in the countries that came under U.S. influence at the time.
W.A. Rogers
W.A. Rogers, "Uncle Sam's New Class in Self-Government," <em>Harper's Weekly</em>, Vol. 42, No. 2175, 27 August 1898.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
1898
1764
English
Cartoon
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Uncle Sam Finds "Something Lacking" In New Possessions
Expansion and Imperialism
The outcome of the Spanish-American War had far-reaching consequences for several of Spain's former colonies. The United States annexed Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam, while Cuba became independent but subject to American influence. This political cartoon from shortly before the conclusion of the war in 1898 reflects the pro-expansionist view, contrasting the benefits derived from American involvement by Puerto Rico (in a shiny new outfit marked "Annexation Suit from Your Uncle Sam") and Cuba (clutching bread and waving the flag of independence), with the uncertain status of the Philippines, depicted as mired in a primitive, "savage" condition. Typically, all three nations are depicted as children, dependent on a kindly and benevolent Uncle Sam.
Unknown
"Something Lacking," 30 July 1898, from John J. Johnson, <em>Latin America in Caricature</em> (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993).
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
1898
1764
English
Cartoon
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
"Showing the Light to the Filipinos"
Expansion and Imperialism
From 1898 to 1902, the United States waged a bloody war in the Philippines. Filipinos wanted independence from centuries of Spanish colonial rule. U.S. leaders, however, saw the opportunity to control the Philippines and gain access to markets in Asia. President McKinley argued that the Filipinos could not govern themselves or defend themselves against other countries. Many supporters of the Philippine-American war also believed in the "civilizing mission"—the idea that European nations and the United States had a moral duty to civilize "backwards" peoples in other parts of the world by introducing Western culture and technology.
Unknown
<em>Boston Herald</em>, March 1899
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
1899
1764, 1668, 1761
English
Cartoon
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
"The White Man's Burden: The United States and the Philippine Islands"
Expansion and Imperialism
In February 1899, British novelist and poet Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem entitled "The White Man's Burden: The United States and The Philippine Islands." In this poem, Kipling urged the U.S. to take up the "burden" of empire, as had Britain and other European nations. Published in the February, 1899 issue of <em>McClure's Magazine</em>, the poem coincided with the beginning of the Philippine-American War and U.S. Senate ratification of the treaty that placed Puerto Rico, Guam, Cuba, and the Philippines under American control. Theodore Roosevelt, soon to become vice-president and then president, copied the poem and sent it to his friend, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, commenting that it was "rather poor poetry, but good sense from the expansion point of view." Not everyone was as favorably impressed as Roosevelt. The racialized notion of the "White Man's burden" became a euphemism for imperialism, and many anti-imperialists couched their opposition in reaction to the phrase.
Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling, "The White Man's Burden: The United States & The Philippine Islands, 1899." <em>Rudyard Kipling's Verse: Definitive Edition </em>(Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1929). From History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web, http://historymatters.gmu.edu/
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
1899
771, 772, 770, 769, 505, 750, 749, 748, 1502
English
Fiction/Poetry
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
"The 'White Man's Burden': Uncle Sam to Kipling"
Expansion and Imperialism
"Droch" was the pen name of Robert Bridges, a critic and editor at <em>Scribner's</em> and <em>Life</em> magazines and a friend to both Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt. In this response to Rudyard Kipling's "The White Man's Burden," he opens by sarcastically thanking Kipling for "showing us the way," and goes on to explain why some Americans may not be enthusiastic about the prospect of an empire, making particular reference to the experience of the Civil War. While not as strongly anti-imperialist as other works of the time, Bridges nonetheless concludes that "We've got troubles of our own/Enough to keep us busy" without the imperial adventure in the Philippines and elsewhere.
Robert Bridges
"Droch" (Robert Bridges), "The 'White Man's Burden': Uncle Sam to Kipling," <em>Life </em>33, 16 February 1899.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
1899
771, 772, 770, 769, 505, 749, 748, 747
English
Fiction/Poetry
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
"The Belle of Manilla"
Expansion and Imperialism
During the 1890s, popular songs and sensationalist news coverage played a large role in drumming up support for U.S. intervention and the Spanish-American War. "The Belle of Manila," written in 1898, was one of many pro-war songs that were played in the homes of middle and upper-class families to build Patriotism and romanticize U.S. involvement abroad.
Louise Haack McLay
Louise Haack McLay, "The Belle of Manila," (San Francisco, Zeno Mauvais Music Company, 1898) from PBS, <em>Crucible of Empire: The Spanish American War</em>, http://www.pbs.org/crucible/frames/_music.html.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
1898
English
Music/Song
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
"The Black KPs"
Race and Ethnicity
"The Black KPs" was written by Charles Hillman and Sidney L. Perrin in 1898 to bolster the domestic support for the war in the Philippines. While the sentiment behind the song was considered patriotic, the language in the lyrics are unmistakably racist.
Charles Hillman and Sidney Perrin
Charles Hillman and Sidney L. Perrin, <em>"The Black KPs"</em>, song and illustration (Chicago: M. Witmark & Sons, 1898), from Brown University Libraries, <em>African American Sheet Music</em>, http://dl.lib.brown.edu/repository2/repoman.php?verb=render&id=1087496124265625.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
1898
English
Music/Song
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
President McKinley Puts the Philippines on the U.S. Map
Expansion and Imperialism
In this account of an 1899 meeting with a delegation of Methodist church leaders, President William McKinley defends his decision to support the annexation of the Philippines in the wake of the U.S. war in that country.
William McKinley
General James Rusling, "Interview with President William McKinley," <em>The Christian Advocate</em>, 22 January 1903, 17; from Daniel Schirmer and Stephen Shalom, eds., <em>The Philippines Reader</em> (Boston: South End Press, 1987), 22-23.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
1903
1764
English
Newspaper/Magazine
Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
A Filipino Independence Leader Denounces U.S. Intervention
Expansion and Imperialism
Sixto Lopez (1863-1947) was a prominent and influential leader of the Filipino independence movement who worked closely with the American Anti-Imperialist League. In this article published in <em>Gunton's Magazine</em> (a pro-capitalist, pro-labor journal), Lopez denounces the U.S. presence in the Phillipines. He was secretary of the mission led by Felipe Agoncillo that was sent to the United States by the Philippine Republic in 1898 to negotiate U.S. recognition of Philippine independence. When war broke out, they left the country to avoid arrest by agents of the U.S. Secret Service. In October 1900, he returned to the United States as the guest of Fiske Warren, a Boston-based officer of the New England Anti-Imperialist League. While in the United States, Lopez published numerous letters and essays and gave speeches in major cities with the help of local League branches. He became the Anti-Imperialist League's most direct and important contact with the Filipino independence movement and presented a Filipino position opposed to the U.S. conquest of the Philippines to the American public during the first difficult years of the war.
Sixto Lopez
Sixto Lopez, "Do the Filipinos Desire American Rule?," <em>Gunton's Magazine</em>, June 1902.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
1902
English
Newspaper/Magazine
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)