POLITICAL
CARICATURES
DURING AMERICAN
ERA (1900-1941):
A Context and Content Analysis
Bael, Gallang, Patubo, and Ragon
BSA-1A
TOPIC OVERVIEW
I. Background of the Book
II. Political Caricature
III. Introduction on American Colonization
IV.Political Caricatures during American Era (1900-
1941)
V. Analysis of the Political Caricatures during the
American Period
I. Background of the Book
Political Caricatures during American Era (1900-1941)
• Written by Alfred W. McCoy and designed by artist-writer, Alfred Roces.
• Published in 1985 under Vera-Reyes Inc.
• This book contains compiled 377 political cartoons published in newspaper
dailies and periodicals in the aforementioned time period.
Authors
Alfred W. McCoy
An American born on June 8, 1945, in Massachusetts,
U.S.A.
• A professor of Southeast Asian History at the
University of Wisconsin Madison and served as
Director of the Center for Southeast Asian studies.
• Specialized in Philippine Political History and Global
Opium Trafficking.
• Most of his works focus on the Philippines.
Authors
Alfredo Roces
• A Filipino born on April 29, 1923.
• A painter, an essayist, and a versatile artist
• Has a prominent place in the history of
Philippine Art.
II. What is Political
Caricature?
• A subset of a cartoon.
• These are illustrations usually found in
newspapers that contain an exaggerated
portrayal of factual happening that
provide a comprehensive background
about certain topics or issue in the
society.
• Became part of the print media as a form
of social and political commentary.
III. Introduction of American
Colonization
• After, the defeat of Spain in the Spanish- American War of 1898, Spain
ended their colonization in the country after three hundred and thirty-three
(333) years after they signed the treaty of Paris on December 10, 1998.
• It was December 21, 1898, when the U. S Government declared military rule
in the Philippines which was the reason why the Filipinos led by Emilio
Aguinaldo to sought independence rather than a change in colonial rule
which broke into Philippine- American War on February 4, 1899.
• The war lasted for three years which resulted in the overall death of over 24,
200, 4,200 were American and over 20,000 were Filipino combatants. In
addition, as many as 200,000 Filipino civilians died from violence, famine,
and disease during that war.
• The war ended on July 2, 1902, with United States being the winner and
successfully ruled the Philippines which lasted for 48 years.
IV. Political Caricatures During the American
Era
Manila: The Corruption of City
The Distant Provinces
The Colonial Condition
Uncle Sam and Little Juan
The Aliens in our Midst
The Political Pageant
An Emerging Nation
Manila: The
Corruption
of City
Manila :The Corruption of City
- The American Era was a time of
major physical and cultural
change for the city of Manila.
These changes include: (a.)
Improvement of Manila’s poor
health and sanitation and (b.)
Addressment of Manila’s
fundamental problems such as
public housing, public transport,
and public parks for the city’s
working class.
Manila :The Corruption of City
- However, these changes did not totally
help the Manila cope with other major
problems such as poverty, and some
practices during that time had the
Filipinos into different situations. For
example, during the American
colonialism in 1920s, to be specific,
hospitals were forced to turn away
charity cases for want of space.
Manila :The Corruption of City
- In addition, prostitution also boomed under
the American regime which was
suppressed under Spanish rule.
Manila :The Corruption of City
- Moreover, Manila police
and city of officials were also
known for their
maladministration and gained a
reputation for laziness and
systematic corruption. To make
it worst, police also engaged in
gambling and learned to profit
from selective tolerance.
The Distant Provinces
- During American occupation, provinces
were engaged in vices and factional
politics.
Vices
Faction Politics
The Distant Provinces
- In addition, poverty was also evident in the province, especially the
farmers wherein they experience agriculture’s plight. For instance, -
In 1922, money lenders during that time abuses the pacto de
retroventa lending system to confiscate peasant land, where
lender files false declarations to claim the land that the poor
peasant worked hard for so many years.
- Not only that, published political caricatures also mirrored how
farmers in the province experience:
1. Deprivation to farm their own land.
2. Being stripped off by their landlord their rightful share of the harvest.
3. Decline of the rice industry.
Agriculture’s Plight
The Distant Provinces
- In addition, during the
American era, Senator Lope K.
Santos introduced a bill which
requires all mountain people to
wear lowland dress and
change their names or be
imprisoned for 30 days to
five years.
The
Colonial
Condition
The Colonial Condition
Lipag Kalabaw (1907)
- Is a satirical-
political entertainment
weekly Tagalog
Magazine.
The Colonial Condition
During American Era, the
artists’ primary weapon to fight
every sign and indication of
discriminatory colonial culture
was SATIRE.
The Colonial Condition
• During the first decade of
US Colonial Rule,
nationalist fought a
determined rear-guard
action against a revival of
Spanish Friar influence.
Early cartoonist directed
some stinging satire at the
Spanish Priest and their
continuing influence over
pious Filipinos.
The Colonial Condition
• The start of US Colonial Rule in 1899
brought an end to friars’ formal influence
but Centro Catolico that sponsored the Liga
Anti-Ponographica attempted to rebuild
the Spanish friar influence on less formal
basis.
The Colonial Condition
The Colonial Condition
The Colonial Condition
The Colonial Condition
Uncle Sam and Little Juan
• Uncle Sam- is the personification of the
United States federal government.
Uncle Sam often appeared crafty and
predatory in his relationship with the
Filipina in the early years when Filipino
nationalism was at its height. However,
he was metamorphosed into a wise,
kindly-looking man with materialistic
concern for the boyish figure of “Juan
de la Cruz.”
Uncle Sam and Little Juan
The Alien
in our
Midst
The Alien in our Midst
• Despite their small numbers, aliens were
the object of continuous controversy
during the American period.
• The Spanish friars are known to be the
most controversial aliens during the first Friar Deceit
decade of U.S. colonial rule.
• In connection, numerous cartoons
showed the protest of the Philippines
with the attempt of the Spanish religious
orders to recover their lost censorship
powers during the first decade of U. S.
Colonial rule. The Soldiers of Liberatas
The Alien in our Midst
• In addition,
caricatures also
mirrored how Spanish
religious interfere in
the 1907-1908
election where they
were able to use their
wealth to influence
the outcomes.
The Alien in our Midst
• Aside from the Spanish friars,
Chinese also are considered as
controversial aliens with the
aforementioned period.
• Born in wealthy Chinese mestiza
merchant, Pedro Paterno advocates
Chinese immigration because
Filipino labors were indolent,
“Representing… Peking?”
insufficient, and unreliable which
outrages the crowd of Filipino farm
laborers behind him.
The Alien in our Midst
• In addition, during
the American
colonialism, Chinese
addicts successfully
bribing a Filipino
pharmacist to sell
them opium from his Hallucinogenic Business
medicinal stocks.
Pretending Not to See
The Alien in our Midst
• Cartoons also mirrored how
Chinese avoid prohibition by
smuggling opium through
Manila Customs in drums of
cement, condensed milk and
other bulk cargos, something
impossible to detect. Once the
opium has cleared the Customs
House, Manila Police have
proved incapable of preventing Why There is Opium
its distribution.
The Alien in our Midst
• In addition, caricatures also
show that in the past decade
foreign merchants, Chinese
included, have frown from
small traders into “now great
merchants and bankers.” The
Filipinos, by contrast, have
remained hewers of wood and
drawers of water.
The Political Pageant
• The sum of these cartoons illustrated the
history of Philippine politics under American
rule.
• The cartoons focus specifically on two major
parties and four dominant leaders under
American Rule:
1. Federalista Party (Progresista Party)-
An American party Led by Dr. Trinidad H. Pardo
de Tavera
2. Nacionalista Party- Which was split
into two different factions Led by Fernando Ma.
Guerrero and Dr. Dominador Gomez who
devoted their energies to defeat intra-party
rivals.
The Political Pageant
Left Side –
Nacionalista Party led
by Guerrero
Right Side- Another
Nacionalista Party led
by Gomez
Center- Procession of
Federelista Party
The Political Pageant
• The aforementioned parties were engaged
into internecine faction fighting and the one
who hailed as the winner in the end was
Nacionalista Party where they constructed
an autocratic leadership.
• However, as mirrored in the caricature
(right) the federalist voters and the party
itself did not easily accept the defeat, and
the former protested and denigrate the
capabilities of the ordinary Filipino who won
to lead the country.
An Emerging Nation
• For the cartoonists, the
Philippines should simply become
independent not only should the
nation be free of American
domination, but it should also be
free of ignorance, injustice,
inequality, and corruption.
• Among the problems of the
nation during the American era
as indicated in the caricatures,
was that duplicity had become an
essential part of Philippine
colonial politics.
An Emerging Nation
• In addition, suffrage
for women was
another issue facing
nationalists.
An Emerging Nation
• Moreover, continuous
corruption was still
evident as years go by
under American rule
where bosses use their
wealth to bribe and buy
labor leaders resulting in
the ignorance and
discrimination of bad
wages and worse working
conditions for workers.
An Emerging Nation
• In connection, incompetence,
mismanagement, and again
corruption in the domestic
loan account of the Philippine
National Bank (PNB) in the
early 1920s brought the bank
to the brink of collapse which
was the great scandal during
the American period that
caused delay of the Philippine
independence by 10 if not 20
years.
Analysis of the Political
Caricatures during the
American Period
Analysis of the Political Caricatures during the American
Period
• The transition from the Spanish Colonial Period to the American Occupation Period
demonstrated different strands of changes and shifts in culture, society, and politics.
• The growing corruption was shown to be taking over the political processes in the
Philippines.
• Poverty was evident during the U.S. Rule, especially in the situation of the farmers.
• Inequalities, racism, and discrimination among Filipinos in politics, economics, and
employment impel Filipinos to fight for the Philippines' independence and break free
from the exploitative Americans.
• Americans being "American" won them jobs and greater opportunities beyond their
slender abilities.
• Filipinos became immigrants in their own country.
• Aside from that, the caricatures also depicted Americans as controlling and
enslaving people by paying off authorities for their personal security and
demanding the highest respect from the Filipinos.
• It is true that those who colonized us had contributed a lot to us and that it
helped us but that does not mean that they were completely generous to us.
• Lastly, the author, Alfred Mccoy, is impartial in giving his representation and
understanding on the political caricatures against the Americans.
THANK YOU!
