The Forgotten Files

Share this post

America's Expansionist Appetite (1900)

forgottenfiles.substack.com

America's Expansionist Appetite (1900)

Uncle Sam's Stubborn Refusal to Slim Down

Peter Pappas
May 8, 2023
6
3
Share
Share this post

America's Expansionist Appetite (1900)

forgottenfiles.substack.com
Click image to enlarge

DECLINED WITH THANKS
The Antis - “Here take a dose of this anti-fat and get thin again!”
Uncle Sam - “No. Sorry! I never did take any of that stuff, and I’m too old to begin.”

The political cartoon "Declined With Thanks" was published in Puck on September 5, 1900. It depicts a large Uncle Sam getting a new outfit made at "McKinley and Company National Tailors."

The cartoon endorses the expansionist foreign policy of President William McKinley with "Declined With Thanks” - a sarcastic reference to the anti-expansionists who opposed the United States' territorial acquisitions and foreign policy.

The stripes in Uncle Sam’s pants (made with “enlightened” fabric) represent the “natural increases” in the size of the United States, a process that began with the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and continued with the acquisitions of Florida (1821), Texas (1845), California (1848), and Alaska (1867). They continue with the annexation of Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

Uncle Sam rejects the tonic of “Anti-Expansion Policy” offered by three anti-imperialists (left-right): Oswald Ottendorfer, publisher and editor of the New Yorker Staats-Zeitung; Carl Schurz, a vice president of the Anti-Imperialist League and former U.S. senator (1869-1874) from Missouri, secretary of the interior (1877-1881), and editor of Harper’s Weekly (1892-1898); and, Joseph Pulitzer, publisher of the New York World. More

The cartoon portrays the anti-expansionists as small and weak, while Uncle Sam is large and powerful, symbolizing the strength and superiority of the United States. The cartoon was created by J.S. Pughe and was widely circulated during the 1900 presidential election.


Here’s a critique of American Imperialism from the same era

School Begins: Critique of US Imperialism (1899)

Peter Pappas
·
January 23, 2021
School Begins: Critique of US Imperialism (1899)

Invading foreign lands was a relatively new experience for the U.S. Given the rhetoric of civilizing uplift used to justify expansion, training was expected as part of the incorporation of new territories into the U.S. Uneasiness over the idea of using force to govern a country was overcome by tracing the issue of consent back through re…

Read full story

John Samuel Pughe (3 June 1870 – 19 April 1909), was a Welsh-born American political cartoonist, best known for his illustrations for Puck magazine.


Title: Declined With Thanks

Creator(s): J. S. (John S.) Pughe (1870-1909)

Source: Puck Magazine

Date Created/Published: September 5, 1900

Reproduction Number: LC-USZC4-2158

6
3
Share
Share this post

America's Expansionist Appetite (1900)

forgottenfiles.substack.com
Previous
Next
3 Comments
Eric Stromquist
Writes The Laughable Feast
May 8Liked by Peter Pappas

It turns out that obesity was our manifest destiny.

Expand full comment
Reply
2 replies by Peter Pappas and others
2 more comments…
Top
New
Community

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 Peter Pappas
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing