How to Analyze a Political Cartoon

How to:

1. look at the captions and speech bubbles, but don't take anything too literally

2. look when the cartoon was published and see what was happening in the world at that time, and relate that to the cartoon

3. find different symbols or patterns that could mean something/represent someone

4. look for people and objects

5. ask questions

Now that I have looked at a guide, I will find the main ideas and observe what is obvious in the cartoon. Then begin to ask questions and find answers. 

Observations: This cartoon is captioned: The Open Door, gate to of the Philippines, Uncle Sam is showing the two other political figures through the gate
Reflect: I think this cartoon is about the Americans taking over the Philippines and sharing it with other European countries. Taking over the Phillipines is literally the gateway to the Open Door Policy that America wants.

Observations: This cartoon is entitled "The Filipino's First Bath". In the water is the word civilization, the man in the bathing suit represents President McKinley and he is bathing the Filipino.

Reflect: McKinley is literally bathing the Filipino is civilization. He is wiping away all their original customs and ways and using civilization to do so. In the caption, McKinley says, "Oh you dirty boy!". 

Observations: This cartoon is called War Declared With Spain-1898. In this picture is Uncle Sam walking over to Cuba. There are many ships in the background and Uncle Sam looks like he is heading for Havana. In the cloud above is the word "War".
Reflect: The main theme in this cartoon is war. The fact that the cartoonist showed this theme by putting the word in a cloud above, shows that it is a main part of this cartoon. Uncle Sam is a figure always used to depict America and he is heading to defend Cuba after the war with Spain is declared.