Political Caricature in

Alfred McCoy’s
Philippine Cartoons:
Political Caricature of the
American Era (1900 – 1941)
Political Cartoons and Caricature

• Political cartoons and caricature are

a rather recent art form –
exaggerating human features and
poking fun at its subjects.
• Cartoons like this usually targets
persons of power and authority.
Cartoons became an effective tool of
publicizing opinions through heavy
use of symbolism, which is different
from a verbose written editorial and
opinion pieces.
Political Cartoons and
Caricature
• The unique way that a caricature represents
opinion and captures the audience’s
imagination is reason enough for historians to
examine these political cartoons.
• Commentaries in mass media inevitably shape
public opinion and such kind of opinion is
worthy of historical examination.
Political Caricature in Alfred McCoy’s
Philippine Cartoons: Political
Caricature of the American Era (1900 –
1941)
• In the book of Alfred McCoy and Alfredo
Roces titled Philippine Cartoons: Political
Caricature of the American Era is a
compilation of political cartoons published
in newspaper dailies and periodicals in the
aforementioned time period. For this part,
we are going to look at selected cartoons
and explain the context of each one.
 A public post is not a heridatary crown…
• The cartoon shows a politician from Tondo, named Dr. Santos, passing
his crown to his brother-in-law, Dr. Barcelona.
• A Filipino guy (depicted by wearing salakot and barong tagalog) was
trying to stop Santos, telling the latter to stop giving Barcelona the
crown because it is not his to begin with.
 War against the Speculators
• Drawn by Fernando Amorsolo, aimed as a commentary to the
workings of Manila Police at that period.
• We see a Filipino child who stole a skinny chicken because he had
nothing to eat.
• The police officer was relentlessly pursuing the said child. A man
wearing a salakot, labelled Juan Dela Cruz was grabbing the officer,
telling him to leave the small-time pickpockets and thieves and turn at
the great thieves instead.
• He was pointing to huge warehouses containing bulks of rice, milk,
and grocery products.
 Death Cars
• Commentary on the unprecedented colorum automobiles in the city
streets.
• The Philippine Free Press published this commentary when fatal
accidents involving colorum vehicles and taxis occurred too often
already.
 Our “Flaming Youth”
• This depicts a cinema. A blown-up police officer was at the screen
saying that couples are not allowed to neck and make love in the
theater.
• Two youngsters looked horrified while an older couple seemed
amused.
• We can see a caricature of Uncle Sam riding a chariot pulled by
Filipinos wearing school uniforms.
• The Filipino boys were carrying American objects like baseball bats,
whiskey, and boxing gloves.
• This cartoon was based on an event in 1907 when William Howard
Taft was brough to the Manila pier riding a chariot pulled by students
of Liceo de Manila.
• Such was condemned by the nationalists at that time.
 El Turno de los Partidos
• We can see Uncle Sam rationing porridge to the politicians and
members of the Progresista Party while members of the Nacionalista
Party look on and wait for their turn.
• This cartoon depicts the patronage of the United States being coveted
by politicians from either of the party.
 The transition from the Spanish Colonial period
General to the American Occupation period
demonstrated different strands of changes and

Analysis shifts in culture, society, and politics.

The Americans drastically introduced democracy,

together with different manifestations of
modernity like healthcare, modern
transportation, and media.

This ushered in a more and freer press.

General • The selected cartoons illustrate not only the
opinion of certain media outfits about the
Philippine society during the American
Analysis period but also paint a broad image of
society and politics under the United States.
• Filipino politicians did not understand well
enough the essence of democracy and the
accompanying democratic institutions and
processes.
• Patronage also became influential and
powerful. Thus, the essence of competing
political parties to enforce choices among
the voters was cancelled out.
General • The problem continues up to the
present where politicians transfer

Analysi from one party to another

depending on which party was
powerful in specific periods of
s time (turncoatism).
 The transition from a Catholic-centered, Spanish-
Filipino society to an imperial American-assimilated
one, and its complications were also depicted in the
cartoons: motorized vehicles and sexual revolution.

Automobiles became a popular mode of

General transportation with the emergence of taxis.
However, laws and policy implementation were
Analysis mediocre.

Young people at that time disturbed the

conservative Filipino mindset by engaging in daring
sexual activities in public spaces like cinemas.
General Analysis
The cartoons illustrated the conditions of poor Filipinos in the Philippines, now
governed by the United States. From the looks of it, nothing much has changed.

A cartoon depicted how police authorities oppress petty Filipino criminals while
turning a blind eye on hoarders who monopolize goods in their huge warehouses.

A cartoon depicts how Americans controlled Filipinos through seemingly harmless

American objects.

By controlling our consciousness and mentality, Americans got to control and

subjugate Filipinos.