The Panama Canal

"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/teachers-resources/panama-guide/>.

This political cartoon is about the Panama Canal, and uses irony, exaggeration, and labeling. The irony is shown by Teddy Roosevelt digging, but instead of dirt, contractors and protesters are being scooped out of the ground. Exaggeration is shown by Teddy Roosevelt. who is at least 20 times as large as the regular people. The size of panama is also clearly exaggerated, being much smaller that it would actually be. There is lots of labeling in this cartoon, from Teddy Roosevelt to the people in the canal. The shovel reads, “Administration Scoop”, implying that this was an administrative decision. The holster on his hip also is labeled, but is in very tiny print. The cartoonist’s message is that Theodore Roosevelt drove the building of the Panama Canal. Others may believe that the way we got the land to build the canal was not right, and it was Theodore’s fault. I agree with the cartoonist that Theodore Roosevelt was reckless and a little to influential in the decision.