TOW #21 - By Gum

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the author’s central claim?

During the late 1800’s America entered the Age of Imperialism. With it came a thirst for overseas expansion, leading to the admittance of Hawaii as a part of the united states. Another addition to the united states, although not permanent, was the Philippine Islands. The United States won a war with the Spanish and ultimately gained control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines. President McKinley decided to maintain control of the Philippines, even though the Filipinos were not given rights as American citizens.

In this political cartoon, Uncle Sam, the representation of America, is playfully putting American flags across the globe. He is casually smoking a cigar whilst selecting areas for the United States to conquer. By saying “By gum, I rather like your looks” he is expressing how much he likes American imperialism. However, this portrayal of Uncle Sam shows the dark side of imperialism. Uncle Sam is being very casual in deciding where America will grow to; ultimately he shows how Americans wanted to expand to expand and they wanted to win other territories because they liked their looks, not because they wanted to help the other countries.

I agree with the author’s central claim that America during the Age of Imperialism was being too casual with the imperialistic powers it had. For example McKinley claimed that by controlling the Philippines he would help the Filipinos, but life for the Filipinos was worse under American control than before. He also decided to keep the Philippines because he said that God wanted him to, not because of political reasons. Making a decision based off of religion is not fair to do while president of a country free of religious tyranny because there is supposed to be a separation of church and state. Finally, America did not need to help the Philippines, they could have granted the Filipinos independence and let the country run on its own, but America instead casually played with a country and took leadership of it, not considering the drastic effects on the actual inhabitants of the territory.