The Open Door Policy

The Open Door Policy

        China decided to let foreign nations in the country to trade and expand their sphere of influence. However, there was a rule called the Open Door Policy that said no one country could monopolize the trade of China. The message of the cartoon is that even though every country had fair game in China, America had the most power and influence. This is proven because Uncle Sam is holding a key that says "American Diplomacy." It also seems to be the key to China. If maybe a Boxer Chinese person saw this, they would disagree with the fact that foreigners could freely enter the country and not care about any Chinese traditions. One technique used in the cartoon is exaggeration. Uncle Sam is much taller than the other people who represent the other nations. It shows that everyone else is getting the short end of the stick when it comes to China's trade. Another technique is labeling. The key and the gate are labeled with "American Diplomacy" and "China." This disagrees with my view of imperialism because we shouldn't take advantage of others with our powers to get ahead. Eventually, China closed its gates once again due to the Boxer Rebellion.

Citation: Hay, John. "Cartoon Of The Open Door Policy - The Koller Report - N.Koller." Cartoon Of The Open Door Policy - The Koller Report - N.Koller. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2016. <https://sites.google.com/a/ncps-k12.org/amhnews-n-koller-2011/economic/hay-unlocks-the-doors-to-china/cartoon-of-the-open-door-policy>.