The Panama Canal

The Panama Canal

       For America to build the Panama Canal, we needed to use the actual land of Panama, which was owned by Columbia. Columbia did not let America build the canal, so Roosevelt encouraged and helped the people of Panama rebel against Columbian rule. Panama succeeded and to thank America for their help, Panama let America use a ten mile strip of land to build the canal. The message of the political cartoon is that we were more powerful than Columbia, and Roosevelt (who represented America at the time) was determined to build this canal. This is proven because Roosevelt is getting Uncle Sam's encouragement to forcefully take Panama from Columbia, If a citizen of Panama saw this cartoon, they would probably agree with the idea that America would forcefully "free" Panama. One technique used in this cartoon would be labeling. The man that Roosevelt is holding tightly has a sash saying "Columbia" while Roosevelt has a bag saying "Millions for Canal." Another technique used is exaggeration. As one could see, Roosevelt is much taller and more powerful than the other man representing Columbia. The cartoon does agree with my position on imperialism because sometimes, one must be a little more forceful to get what they want to achieve for the good of their nation. However, Roosevelt's methods were a little controversial. 

Citation: "Yesterday's History... Tomorrow's A Mystery." : Teddy Roosevelt and the Panama Canal. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2016. <http://hahallie.blogspot.com/2011/10/teddy-roosevelt-and-panama-canal.html>.