Philippine Political Caricature :

AMERICAN IMPERIAL PERIOD

 ALFRED McCOY

• Born June 8, 1945

• Born in Massachusetts, USA
• Ph.D in History
• M.A. in Asian Studies
• B.A. in European Studies
• Prof. SE Asian History , Univ. of
Wisconsin, Madison
• Director, Center of the SE
Asian Studies
still the author

• Struck by the graphic quality and explanatory

power of Philippine Political Cartoons of the
American Era
• Worked with Alfredo Roces
• Alfredo Roces introduced McCoy to ‘Lipang
Kalabaw’
• Co-Author of Philippines Cartoons: Political
Caricatures of the American Era
NOTE: Alfred McCoy did not create the caricatures inside the book. He simply compiled
them from various sources and interpreted them.
 CONTEXT
• Evocative record of a half-forgotten history
• The scandals, struggles and social changes of the
American colonial period gained an immediacy in these
graphic images
• A mirror of society’s colonial condition , an act of
protest, and a weapon in the struggle for social reform
• The conservative illustrados and moneyed Filipinos
collaborated with the Americans.
 CONTENT
 As part of the treaty that ended the Spanish –
American war, US took possession of the Philippines
 For some Americans imperialist expansion was a
duty and necessary for America to achieve
maturity ( to spread civilization and progress to
backward peoples and nation).
 For others, they denounce the imperialist
expansion as dangerous, immoral, and racist.
American Imperial Rule
 The four decades of of American colonial rule
were a formative period in Philippine history
 The Philippines experienced a process of
Americanization and modernization that has
left a lasting legacy
 The dependence upon America
(economic,strategic and political )- became a
fixture of Philippine life
 Reflection of its RELEVANCY

 Colonial mentality engulf the entire Filipino

senses
o Our sense of nationalism have been altered
o Patriotic people becoming lean in the
society
o It becomes a source of unknown division
 Clifford Kennedy Berryman
 Best-known and most admired graphic
political commentator in the first half of the
20th century
 Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist with the
Washington Star Newspaper from 1907 -1949
 Born on April 1869, Clifton, Kentucky, United
States
 Died December 11,1949, Washington, D.C. ,
United States
 Still the author

 Continued to produce commentary

through WW II
 He produced cartoons reflective of the
racial and cultural condescension, as
well as great –power arrogance, that
permeated much of the pro-war camp
in the American press.
 CONTEXT
 On July 4, 1901, following the capture of Aguinaldo and the
dispersal of the revolutionary army and upon William
Howard Taft recommendation, American authorities
established the civil government which took over the
functions of the military government.
 A. struggle for freedom and independence ( era of
suppressed nationalism)
 B. passage of sedition law ( prohibits seditious
utterances )
 CONTENT
 Rise of guerrilla resistance against the
American strong rule of domination shown in
the caricature as big leg stepping in the
archipelago.

 Filipinos engaged in resistance were

routinely depicted in racist terms as dark
– skinned and primitive (weak presentation
of the Filipinos)
 Reflection of its Relevancy

 The unsettled true political independence from foreign

powers have become an issue for NPA to continue its
resistance.
 Through time we have learn to accept the diverse
Philippine political make-up
 However, Filipinos have learned that we can be at best as
a nation and Filipinos without foreign interventions.
 Thank you
by:
Dynnah M. Aso
Ma. Daisy L. Lagdamen
Regino G. Manuel