Political Caricatures of

the American Era

Group 4 (Hukbong
Rebolusyon)
 BACKGROUND OF THE
AUTHORs
Alfred W. McCoy
✣ Alfred William McCoy was born on June 8, 1945. He is a professor
of SE Asian History at the U. of Wisconsin at Madison where he also
serves as director of the Center for SE Asian Studies, a federally-
funded National Resource Center

Alfredo Roces
✣ Alfredo Reyes-Roces was born on April 29, 1932. He is a gifted
artist-writer from the known Roces clan in Philippine print media.
✣ He is a painter who started with a figurative style but soon began to
amalgamate Expressionism, Fauvism and Impressionism in his
paintings.
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF
THE DOCUMENT
✣ During the American era, Filipinos found another way of expressing their Political
ideologies or feelings against American occupations.
✣ Philippine Political cartoons gained full expression in the American era.
✣ A form of news presented in cartoons put in the newspaper. It is a form of satire
✣ 377 cartoons compiled in the book speak for themselves, historian Alfred McCoy’s
extensive research in Philippine and American archives provides a comprehensive
background not only to the cartoons but also to the turbulent period happening at that time.
✣ Not just a cartoon, it shows the situation at the time of American colonization of the
Filipinos.
 CONTENT PRESENTATION
“ The pen is mightier than the sword.”
✣ Political cartoon gained mass currency only with the establishment of the printing
press. Without some kind of large audience, the political cartoon could not serve its
social purpose.
✣ The cartoons can be presented in a variety of ways, ranging from racist to
conservative, vivid, and wordy in order to represent the opinions of the cartoonist,
and the languages that are utilized are either English or Spanish.
✣ The victims are depicted in a deplorable and pitiful state so as to elicit feelings of
compassion from the readers.
✣ Some of the compiled caricatures or cartoons are from Lipag Kalabaw, The
Independent and Philippine Free Press.
 Content presentation
The Cartoons:
✣ Manila: The Corruption of a City

If nationalism was the ideology of the Manila Press, the city

was its reality. The editors, artists and writers all lived and
worked in Manila, and so expressed their frustrations with
its discomforts and decadence in some of the angriest
cartoons of the American Period (1899-1941). Costumes
and characters have changed in the half century since their
publication, but the manila as constant urban problems—
poverty, corruption and prostitution— give this cartoons
and always timeless quality.
 Content presentation
The Cartoons:
✣ The Queer Human Mind

The Americans introduced manila to the new concept of

athletic leisure through universities, schools, and
commercial leagues. Instead of promoting sports such as
soccer and cricket where physical size is not a critical
factor, the Americans insisted on their own innovations,
baseball and basketball, thereby condemning the Filipino to
an eventual international mediocrity..
 Content presentation

The Cartoons:
✣ [Dibujo de Fernando Amorsolo]
While Sharks are Escaping

Drawn with great feeling by the artist Fernando Amorsolo,

the cartoon, in fact, reflects the passions of The
Independent’s publisher, Vicente Sotto. A giant Cebuano
letters and a volatile nationalist, Sotto was constantly
harassed throughout his long career by charges of abduction
and libel.
 ANALYSIS OF THE IMPORTANT
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
FOUND IN THE DOCUMENT
✣ Cartoons have long played an important role in conveying people's senses and feelings
through drawing
✣ Though in this era Filipino lives changed we were introduced to cosmetics, theater, jazz, and
many more that enhance our daily lives.
✣ Filipino people paid to have a democracy based on American democracy in the realm of
politics.
✣ Filipino politicians at that time did not understand well enough the essence of democracy
and the accompanying democratic institutions and processes.
✣ The essence of competing political parties to enforce choices among the voters was canceled
out.
 CONTRIBUTION OF THE DOCUMENT IN
UNDERSTANDING THE GRAND
NARRATIVE OF PHILIPPINE HISTORY
✣ Understanding the political climate during the American occupation

✣ Political cartoons have been a significant medium of expression.

✣ The cartoons highlight the tension between American colonizers and Filipinos.

✣ Inform the new generation about the past, especially the political climate during the
American occupation.
 RELEVANCE OF THE DOCUMENT TO
CONTEMPORARY TIMES
✣ Signifies the importance of the happenings in history by the form of cartoons to
effectively express and impart the information being portrayed in the document.
✣ This also can extend to people living in modern times to be knowledgeable and be
informed that this certain situation happened in that specific time which contributes a
lot in making the whole representation of history
✣ is an eye-opener to every people in the modern world about why this specific event
happen, why does this event commence, and what are the contributions of such
documents in the making of history
 Filipino Grievances Against
Governor Wood

Group 4 (Hukbong
Rebolusyon)
BACKGROUND OF THE
AUTHORs
Gregorio Fernandez Zaide
✣ Born on May 25, 1907, in Pagsanjan, Laguna, Philippines,
✣ died on October 31, 1986
Education
✣ He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the Philippines in
1927 and a Master of Arts degree in history at the same university in 1931.
✣ Zaide studied at Columbia University in New York City, where he earned a
second master's degree in history.
✣ He taught at several universities in the Philippines, including the University of
the Philippines, Manuel L. Quezon University, and Jose Rizal College
BACKGROUND OF THE
AUTHORs
Gregorio Fernandez Zaide
Achievements
✣ Zaide served as the president of the Philippine Historical Association and was a
member of several other academic organizations.
✣ He is known as the Dean of Filipino Historiographers and a significant figure
in Philippine historiography.
✣ Zaide authored 67 books and 500 articles about Philippine history, including
"Filipino Grievances Against Governor Wood," published in 1923, which
detailed the grievances of Filipinos against Wood's policies.
✣ Zaide was also a mayor from the town of Pagsanjan, Laguna, in the
Philippines.
 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF
THE DOCUMENT
✣ In order to express their opposition to Governor Wood's oppressive and unjust measures, particularly against Executive Order
No. 37, Filipino leaders of the time wrote the document.
✣ The letter served as Governor Wood's plea for impeachment.
✣ written on Nov. 10 1926
✣ The attitude of Governor-General Wood with regards to the executive branches of the government resulted in a sense of
dissatisfaction on the part of the Filipino leaders.
✣ The document was produced to safeguard the rights and liberties of the Filipino people during the critical situation at the time
of the American colonization as mandated by the Filipino Leaders.
✣ The Commission on Independence granted its blessing on November 17, 1926.
✣ Leonard Wood
✣ He is a major general in the United States and became governor-general in Cuba and later on in the Philippines. He was
appointed to guide the Filipinos to a proper way of creating laws and proper governance and lead them to make self-
government.
✣ He arrived in the Philippines in 1903 and was appointed as the governor of the Mero Province compromising the southern
Islands and Mindanao
✣ A year after it was approved, Governor Leonard Wood passed away because of a flawed procedure in his surgery.
 CONTENT PRESENTATION
✣ The personality of General Wood was a major contributing factor in the animosity that existed between the
Governor General and the political leaders of the Philippines.
✣ He got rid of the Council and controlled the islands independently from the Legislature.
✣ The battles that ensued between Wood and the leaders of the Filipino people served to strengthen the people's
sense of national pride that forms the National Supreme Council.
✣ Filipino people have pledged their trust in the Americans because the Americans have assured them that the
Philippines will be preserved and developed for the benefit of the Filipino people. Nevertheless, when Wood
arrived in the country, all of the promises became a complete bluff to the Filipino People as a result of the
arbitrary acts that he committed
 CONTENT PRESENTATION
Some examples of these arbitrary acts include the following:
✣ Revising the policy of Filipinizing by appointing Americans even when Filipino of proven capacity were
available.
✣ Refusing to obtain the advice of the Senate in making appointments where such advice is required by the Organic
Law.
✣ Using legislative powers by imposing conditions on legislative measures approved by him.
✣ Adapting the practice of intervening in, and controlling directly, to its minute details, the affairs of the Philippine
Government both insular and local, in violation of self government.
✣ Insistently sought the amendment of our laws approved by the Congress of the United States, which amendment
would open up the resources of our country to exploitation by predatory interests.
 ANALYSIS OF THE IMPORTANT
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
FOUND IN THE DOCUMENT
✣ It is stated in the third paragraph of the paper that the issuance of Executive Order No. 37 by
Wood was the impetus for them to create the resolution
✣ Major-General Leonard Wood was proclaimed governor general of the Philippines. Filipinos
anticipated that his American and Filipino officials would continue to work together in a
cooperative manner.
✣ The Filipino were patient and diligent to the task of meeting the conditions given to them
because they trust the Americans.
✣ . A growing number of Filipino academics have recently expressed interest in rewriting
Philippine history from a Filipino perspective.
✣ Throughout the American period, the quest for independence has been a persistent and
uniting political topic for Filipinos.
 CONTRIBUTION OF THE DOCUMENT IN
UNDERSTANDING THE GRAND
NARRATIVE OF PHILIPPINE HISTORY
✣ It showed that Filipinos have the quality or traits of being leaders and officials a revolutionary
government should possess but was cut short due to Governor Wood’s interference.

✣ Written with the intent to present facts in order for the citizens of the Philippines to be aware of the
events at that time.

✣ The document is an eyewitness account which serves as enough proof to show the real happenings
and context of the historical event in question.

✣ It showed that the Philippines was fooled by the American government in which promises were
never upheld.

✣ It serves as a reminder for Filipino people to be independent and must not be hinged on others.
 RELEVANCE OF THE DOCUMENT TO
CONTEMPORARY TIMES
✣ The document is an eyewitness account which serve as enough proof to show the real
happenings and events during those time
✣ It serves as a reminder that we must learn to stand on our own feet and be independent.
✣ Written with the intent to present facts in order for the citizens of the Philippines to be
aware of the events at that time and to open their eyes about the reality of the
presidency of that time.
THANK YOU!
✣ Octavio, Lovely Jean T.
✣ Oliver, Mharvin Loulle Jay C.
✣ Pangcoga, Anidah C.
✣ Picoc, Christine Mae C.
✣ Pidlaoan, Sherlyn M.
✣ Puno, Leah Mae V.
✣ Quepic, Jaycie Mae M.
✣ Quian, Remir Alfred
✣ Sanchez, Rowence Divine V.
✣ Santillan, Arnaldo D.