Political Caricature During American Period

Political
Caricatures During
American Period of Alfred McCoy
ALFRED MCCOY
Born 1945, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Dr. Alfred W. McCoy is a professor of
the South East Asian History at the
University of Wisconsin at Madison
where he also serves as director of the
Center for SE Asian Studies. He's spent
the past quarter-century writing about
the politics & history of the opium
trade.
ALFRED MCCOY
• McCoy has spent the past thirty years writing about

Southeast Asian history and politics. His publications
include Philippine Cartoons (1985), Anarchy of
Families (1994), Closer Than Brothers: Manhood at
the Philippine Military Academy (2000) and Lives at
the Margin (2001).
ALFRED MCCOY
After earning a Ph.D. in Southeast Asian history at Yale,
the writings of McCoy on this region has focused on
two topics — Philippine political history and global
opium trafficking. The Philippines remains the major
focus of his research. His teaching interests include:
Modern Philippine social and political history; U.S.
foreign policy; colonial empires in Southeast Asia;
global illicit drug trafficking; and CIA covert operations.
BACKGROUND
OF THE DOCUMENT
1900-41 Philippine political cartoons
gained full expression during the American
era. Filipino artists recorded national
attitudes toward the coming of the
Americans as well as the changing mores
and times.
PHILIPPINE CARTOON(1985)
While the 377 cartoons compiled in this book

speak for themselves, historian Alfred McCoy’s
extensive research in Philippine and American
archives provides a comprehensive background
not only to the cartoons but to the turbulent
period as well.
ACHIEVEMENT
• Philippine Catholic Mass Media
Award
• Best Book of the Year for 1985
• Philippine National Book Award for
History,1986
• Gintong Aklat Award (Manila)
• Special Citation for History, 1987.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Caricatures
A picture, description, or imitation
of a person in which certain striking
characteristics are exaggerated in
order to create a comic or
grotesque effect.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Aparcero
“sharecropping”
A type of farming in which families
rent small plots of land from a
landowner in return for a portion of
their crop, to be given to the
landowner at the end of each year.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Homesteaders
Someone who settles lawfully
on government land with the
intent to acquire title to it.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Homestead
the home and adjoining
land occupied by a family.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Imperialism
The policy of extending the rule or
authority of an empire or nation over
foreign countries, or of acquiring and
holding colonies and dependencies.
advocacy of imperial or sovereign
interests over the interests of the
dependent states
SAMPLE CARTOON
AND
IT’S ANALYSIS
WHILE THE PRIEST
LIVES ALONE IN A BIG BUILDING
Like many nationalists of his

day, Vicente Sotto, the
publisher of the
INDEPENDENT, never missed
a chance to attack the
catholic church
IS THE POLITICAL
FORCE BRIBED
Depicts the first of manila's

periodic police scandals
The cartoonist, Fernando
Amorsolo, gives the
illustration a usual racist edge.
NEW BIRD OF PREY
The cartoon's caption, "New Bird
of Prey" is an allusion to the most
famous libel case in the history of
Philippine Journalism.
NEW BIRD OF PREY
Dean C. Worcester filed a libel case against Teodoro Kalaw

(editor) and Martin Ocampo (publisher) after he felt alluded
in the editorial despite the editorial not mentioning any
names.
The lower court sentenced Ocampo to 6 months
imprisonment and PhP2 000 fine and Kalaw to 12 months
imprisonment and PhP3 000 fine and a verdict for moral
and punitive damages for PhP25 000.
Where the Mosquito is King
Built on a swamp and ringed with
streams and ponds, Manila is a
natural breeding ground for
malarial mosquitoes
The Board of Health distributed
millions of doses of quinine and
eliminated mosquito breeding
grounds by filling up the standing
water holes or by spraying them
with petroleum
Liberty, Equality, Fraternity
The Philippine Assembly passed

a law authorizing all legislators,
active or retired, to bear
firearms. The Manila press was
outraged, but the legislators
ignored the opposition and
promulgated the law over the
screams of protest
Why the Aparcero Rebels
It shows the form of

landlord usury used to strip
tenant farmers from their
rightful share of harvest.
A new Wrinkle in the Art of
Thieving
This shows City Capitalists
using the Torrens Title
process, which required
relinquishment of customary
claims to issue titles, to grab
lands in Nueva Ecija and
other Central Luzon
Provinces.
What's Going to be Done About it?
A sudden and unexpected credit

crisis threatens the Negros Sugar
crop and planters respond by
lobbying Governor-General
Francis B. Harrison for relief.
Fueled by free access to the
American sugar market and
liberal credit from the newly
established Philippine National
Bank, the Negros sugar industry
grew rapidly during World War I.
Brothers Under the Skin
Brother's under the skin
- urges Filipinos to end

social conflict and deal
with each other fairly.
As Demobilized American Soldiers
filled the insular civil service and
American corporations won the
major development projects,
Filipino nationalists saw themselves
becoming economic aliens in their
own land. The cartoon's image of
Meralco (E.R.R & L.Co.) dragging
Juan de la Cruz along the neck as he
vomits pesos from his emaciated
frame is no overstatement.
EQUAL WORK,
UNEQUAL SALARY, WHY?
When Filipinos began winning civil
service appointments after 1913
they found themselves facing
serious discrimination in both
wages and positions.
Francis b. Harrison the liberal

Governor General reed the pro;
American hiring policies of the Taft
Era(1900-12) and began the
"Filipinization" of the civil service.
American Worker- Filipino Worker
refers not to a ten fold difference in
Filipino and American manual wages
within the colony, but to a more
fundamental inequality - the
difference in wages and working
conditions between the two countries.
After only 15 years of party politics,

the corruption of the political process
had become apparent by the early
1920's
The Elections Before and After
In 1926, the future of Mindanao
became one of the key issues in
the Philippines-American
relations. American imperialists
exploited the tensions to
advocate partition of the
Philippines and a permanent
American protector for
Mindanao.
MINDANAO
In 1926, the future of
Mindanao became one of the
key issues in the Philippines-
American relations. American
imperialists exploited the
tensions to advocate partition
of the Philippines and a
permanent American
protector for Mindanao.
BURDEN BEARING
This cartoon published in

1928 show Juan de la
Cruz as a beast of burden
bearing a crushing load
of taxes and jobholders
The Results of Co-Education
Vicente Sotto, publisher of

the Independent was also a
conservative moralist. He
seemed to feel that the
Philippines could not win
independence until the
Filipinos had shaped a
national character capable of
bearing that burden.
The Loyalty of the Filipinos
The Loyalty of the Filipinos was

published on April 14, 1917
only ten days after the US
Congress declared war on
Germany and America entered
the conflict. The artist
Fernando Amorsolo draws a
wise, handsome, Uncle Sam
leading little Juan, loyal and
smiling on the road to war.
Relevance and Contribution
1. Nationalism
2. Patriotism
3. Eye - Opener
Discover our Roots
In the Philippines, the presence of political cartoons has
been seen as early as the publication of Kalayaan and La
Solidaridad. Nepomuceno (2012) claimed that
commentaries in newspapers are valid historical
instruments, given that these works are corroborated by
official documents. Furthermore, commentaries, through
the sections of the editorial pages, are useful in seeking to
see the opinions and views of people on policies which are
also rooted on the opinions and views of officials in
government.
Discover our Roots
Accounts pointed that the Philippine press has had a love-
hate relationship with political cartoons as only in 1985 has
there been a published book on Philippine cartoons. The
book of McCoy and Roces (1986) was the first one to
legitimize cartoons as sources of Filipino thoughts and
views. Although the book only covered the period of early
American through the commonwealth, it reflected on two
cartoon themes: anti-American sentiments and the
condemnation of the ruling class.
Characterize a Cause
Since people’s sensitivities are captured immediately
through images, the popularity of cartoons has risen
throughout the years.
Political cartoons serve as primers for engaging in the

prevailing opinions of that time. One positive effect of
political cartoon is that it becomes the representation of
the current conditions of our country- it lets us see the
problem.
Future generations will be able to have a glimpse of the
past Philippine society through these cartoons. Also, it
also serves as a study and reference tool for further
generations.
Through the use of political cartoons, people get to

visualize politics and appreciate the representations
which are within their worldview.
Clarify Historical Information
Represent the feelings of the people
Way to discuss political and social issues

using art
REFERENCE
• https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/caricature
• https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/sharecropping
• https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/homesteader
• https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homestead
• www.dictionary.com/browse/imperialism
• https://prezi.com/p/ph__5rxnezgp/political-caricatures-of-
american-era/

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Political

• McCoy has spent the past thirty years writing about

While the 377 cartoons compiled in this book

Like many nationalists of his

Depicts the first of manila's

Dean C. Worcester filed a libel case against Teodoro Kalaw

The Philippine Assembly passed

It shows the form of

A sudden and unexpected credit

Brother's under the skin

- urges Filipinos to end

Francis b. Harrison the liberal

After only 15 years of party politics,

This cartoon published in

Vicente Sotto, publisher of

The Loyalty of the Filipinos was

Political cartoons serve as primers for engaging in the

Through the use of political cartoons, people get to

Clarify Historical Information

Represent the feelings of the people

Way to discuss political and social issues

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