The Panama Canal

The Coup D’état

The issue that this political cartoon is about is the Panama Canal. The cartoonist’s message is that Teddy Roosevelt was going to get the canal built by force, if necessary. In the political cartoon, he is shown exiting a ship on the shore of Panama by walking down a gangplank that says; ‘The Roosevelt Doctrine.’ The ship also flies the flag of the Grand Old Party, and an elephant, symbolic of the Republican Party is depicted on the ship’s prow. Roosevelt caries a shovel for digging the canal along with assorted weapons. Others might see this cartoon and think that this was a good way to get the Panama Canal built. The techniques that the cartoonist used to make it persuasive are labeling, and exaggeration. The cartoon shows labeling because the ship has a flag marked GOP, and it shows exaggeration because of all the weapons that Teddy Roosevelt is carrying. The cartoon supports my position on American Imperialism because rather than work out a deal, the United States resorts to force to get it’s way.

 "American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/teachers-resources/panama-guide/>.