Cartoons: Political Caricatures of the American Era (1990-1941)

The four decades of American colonial authority shaped the history of the
Philippines. The Philippines progress from an oppressive Spanish rule to self-
government and liberty. Under US colonial supervision, the Philippines underwent an
Americanization and modernization process that left an indelible mark. Even before
the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 16th century, they discovered that the
Filipino had sophisticated material, culture, and a complex society. By 1898, the
Philippines had developed large cities, a flourishing export agricultural, and robust
religious and governmental institutions. The overthrow of the Spanish empire in the
1898 revolution is sufficient evidence of the complexity of Filipino culture.

As with the nationalist movement, the Philippine press emerged in the

decade after the American invasion in 1898. It was an extraordinary period of
ferment and cultural innovation. After the end of military authority in 1901, censorship
regulations offered an avenue for their dissent. The Spanish Permanent Commission
of Censorship outright prohibited any Filipino innovation, while American press
censorship was considerably more lenient. Spanish censorship effectively prohibited
all non-religious Filipino publications and made it difficult to establish a newspaper in
late nineteenth-century Manila. In 1846, Manila's first Spanish daily newspaper
started publication. Filipinos got their first editing experience as propagandists in
Madrid or as newspaper publishers during the 1898–1900 revolution. La
Independencia, the first Filipino daily newspaper, was published. The publication
was directed by Antonio Luna and was published clandestinely in Manila.

Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricatures of the American Era is a book

authored by Alfred William McCoy, an American professor of history and award-
winning writer who dedicated his professional career on the research of Southeast
Asian history, especially that of the Philippines, as well as the study of US Foreign
Policy. One of his dissertations addressed the factional strife in the colonial economy
of Iloilo, Philippines from 1937 to 1955. His interest in Filipino history enabled him to
learn the Hiligaynon dialect and comprehend the political condition, not only of the
area of Iloilo, but of the whole nation.

Philippine Cartoons is a collection of 377 editorial cartoons and caricatures

created by different Filipino artists that confront the situation during the American
occupation in the Philippines. Dated from 1900 to 1941, each unique caricature
documented national sentiments about the arrival of the Americans as well as the
changing mores and times. Some of the cartoons showed the situation of Filipino
farmers in the hands of American renters who self-owned the fields of the workers
and placed harsh and unfair taxes on them. The cartoons also contrasted the
working scenario of a Filipino and an American by showing different pay while having
the same type of labor, which emphasized racial discrimination in terms of work
condition, earnings, job prospects, and career positions.

Aside from that, the cartoons also portrayed Americans as dominating and
enslaving people by taking over the insular civil service and having Filipinos perform
most of the job for their own profit, buying off authorities for their personal protection,
and expecting utmost honors from the Filipinos. From here, increasing corruption
was revealed to be taking over the political processes in the Philippines. Moreover,
they illustrated American imperialism as the main cause for the conflict between
Muslim and Christian Filipinos in Mindanao and for other feuds among Filipino
people who should have been supporting one another in fighting Americans to
recover their independence. McCoy was able to offer a detailed backstory for each
caricature to provide readers information of the tumultuous time the Filipinos had
endured under the hands of the Americans.

The cartoons are presented in a variety of ways, from racist to conservative,

eliciting strong emotions and using a variety of words to convey the cartoonist's
ideas, and are either in English or Spanish. The victims are shown in a deplorable
condition in order to elicit compassion from the readers. The figures intended to
highlight the "good" side are shown with normal features, whereas the "evil" side
includes gaunt, leering, laughing monsters with more animalistic than human
characteristics. The artists' drawings conveyed not just their views, but also a wide
picture of the Philippines under US rule. Between the Spanish Colonial era and the
American Occupation, significant changes occurred in culture, society, and politics.
The abrupt introduction of democracy into a population that has not been adequately
educated about it, and the resulting repercussions, are far from ideal. Thus, it
ushered in the era of free press. The wealthy and powerful remained wealthy and
powerful, while the poor remained impoverished, desperate, and victims of
governmental persecution.
 Editorial cartoons are critical in conveying the Filipinos' emotions about the
transfer of government from Spain to the United States. Caricatures of people and
satirized events from the Philippine Society during the American period vividly
highlight pressing problems. Indeed, the works of artists are significant in the study
of Philippine history. The artists' freedom of speech via their drawings or caricatures
inspired the Filipinos at that era. Media impact may be a tangible factor that results in
audience or individual belief changes. These impacts may be either good or
negative, sudden or gradual, and temporary or permanent. However, not all impacts
result in change: some media messages reinforce the populace's pre-existing
beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors. McCoy's cartoon editorials, as a print medium,
undoubtedly had an effect on Filipino readers throughout the American era and
continue to do so now, additionally, the plight of the impoverished Filipinos under
American rule.

With the assistance Alfredo Roces, who designed the book and provided an
article on Philippine visual satire during the American era, Alfred McCoy was able to
publish Philippine Cartoons as a supplementary source of various political
caricatures created during the aforementioned time. These cartoons explain
historical facts and serve as eye-openers to the reality faced by the people during
the American occupation. The book expressed anti-American emotions in addition to
the criticism of the ruling class which offer us a glimpse of the Philippine society of
the past, picture its historical politics, and enjoy the representations of views of the
Filipinos of that period. Later, political cartoons like this would become important in
portraying the current condition of the nation, much as how they functioned as
primers for engaging the public in the prevalent views at that time.

Observing the caricatures of the American era is helpful in order to realize

how important it is to discuss political and social issues in order to gain a better
understanding of the country's history current situation. Furthermore, it compelled to
recognize and respect the views and opinions of others that may differ from my own
in order to foster a peaceful dialogue that could lead to the development of social
relationships and the improvement of the country as a whole.