Panama Canal

 

The issue in the cartoon is that the Panama Canal was unfair to Panamanians. The cartoon shows Roosevelt taking over Panama. The message is that although the canal would save American money, it was not the right thing to do. The cartoon shows a man trying to stop Roosevelt from destroying their land but fails to do so. I can see how some Pro-Imperialists may argue that it would benefit both America and Panama in a lot of ways. This is because Panama would get to be a part of American's success and power. The cartoonist uses labeling to make this persuasive. For example, the man holding a flag that says new treaty to try and stop Roosevelt's operation as well as land masses with the names of Spanish territories such as Bogota. They also used exaggeration because Roosevelt is much larger as well as his shovel that he is using to dig the canal. This supports my opinion because it is an Anti-Imperialist cartoon. I don not believe this was a fair way for America to get what they hoped for and portrays Roosevelt in a negative way.

 

 

Rogers, W.A. "Theodore Roosevelt & Big Stick Diplomacy." Theodore Roosevelt & Big Stick Diplomacy. AmericanHistory, na. Web. 22 Feb. 2016. <http://www.authentichistory.com/1898-1913/4-imperialism/7-bigstick/index.html>.