Almost all historical record, whether written or visual, is often tinged with the point of view, values or attitude of the creator of the record. The political cartoon, being a cartoon, often has greater license to satirize and critique prevailing policies, leaders or other issues of the day. The philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson argued that "caricatures are often the truest history of the times" (Recovering 594). In large measure, this is true because what is acceptable for a caricature might very well offend or even be considered treasonous in non-cartoon images.
In the images here we see how shifting ideologies in society are often depicted on political cartoons. In "The Spanish brute Adds Mutilation to Murder," there is a gorilla image of Spain as the imperialist mutilator and murderer (Recovering 594). Yet Spain is not the only target of political cartoon satire and criticism. In the political cartoon titled "Liberty Halts American Butchery in the Philippines," the statue of Lady Liberty puts up a halting hand to the image of Uncle Sam (Recovering 595). While the image of Uncle Sam is not as detestable as the grotesque figure of Spain as an ugly gorilla; both cartoons are a criticism of imperialist designs of powerful nations.
The political cartoon during the era of Theodore Roosevelt often lampooned the president for his policies. These included what many political cartoonists viewed as his imperialist tendencies. Others often used his motto of "speak softly and carry a big stick" to provide the tone or point of view in their cartoons. Such images of Roosevelt demonstrate the fact that to understand and appreciate the meaning of any cartoon "certain facts must be ascertained such as the date, artist, and source of the cartoon; the particular historical characters, events, and context depicted" (Recovering 594). The significance of the caption and the main symbols employe
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