The Panama Canal

The issue in this political cartoon is about how the United States needed to build a canal that could be useful for faster transportation from the Pacific Ocean to Atlantic Ocean. The cartoonist's message is trying to say that Teddy Roosevelt would do anything and everything he could to get Panama to be able to construct the canal. I would believe the Colombian people would be infuriated with this cartoon because it shows that the United States doesn't care about their opinion because Teddy Roosevelt is running over their protests and rules. I would also think the people like the Democrats at the time would strongly disagree with this cartoon because Roosevelt is breaking the laws and doing immoral things just because America can obtain Panama. The main techniques that are used to make the cartoon persuasive are labeling and symbolism. It first shows the labeling when Roosevelt was destroying everything that was labeled like the international law, Columbian protest, precedent, and treaty. He literally “ran over” all of those important matters because of the need of wanting Panama. There is also the Panama and Bust label which means that if Roosevelt will never stop and will do anything he can until he can obtain Panama. Those words there show a powerful sense of what Roosevelt will keep on persisting. There is the symbolism in the cartoon because the large elephant represents the Republican Party and that would appeal to Republicans who would be in favor of the idea. The cartoon definitely supports my anti-imperialism position because the cartoon shows that Teddy Roosevelt was ignoring everything and stomping over the rules because of the efficiency for the United States. That is surely not a good thing because it is not constitutional, immoral, and those acts are not what the United States stands for.

"The Panama Canal." Authentichistory. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2016. <http://www.authentichistory.com/1898-1913/4-imperialism/7-bigstick/>.