Source
Introduction
This political cartoon was created by Charles Bartholomew in 1914 and was published in the Minneapolis Journal. The political cartoon refers to all of the players and influences of the Mexican Revolution. Each character represents a different country or demographic. By having all the characters pointing fingers at the character next to them there is a transfer of blame to every participating party. The first character on the far left is William Jennings Bryan who was an American politician.[1] The person that Bryan is pointing at is Henry Lane Wilson. Henry Lane Wilson was the ambassador of Mexico from December 1909 to February of 1913.[2] Next to Wilson is Victoriano Huerta who was the president of Mexico next to Venustiano Carranzo who led the Constitutional Army.
The remaining people are people from both the U.S. and Mexico finished by the three sombreros that represent Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. Every character in this political cartoon is blaming the character next to them. No one is taking responsibility. This is how a lot of interactions in history have gone between the U.S. and Mexico and the U.S. and many Latin American countries. But instead of this cartoon just depicting the U.S. deflecting the blame, every player in the Mexican Revolution is deflecting the blame.
[1] Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. “William Jennings Bryan.” Encyclopedia Britannica, September 30, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Jennings-Bryan.
[2] Office of the Historian. “Henry Lane Wilson (1856-1932).” U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State. Accessed December 14, 2022. https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/wilson-henry-lane.
Citations
Bartholomew, Charles Lewis ‘Bart’, 1869-1949. The Beginning And the End. 1914. Retrieved from the Digital Public Library of America, http://digitalcollections.hclib.org/cdm/ref/collection/Bart/id/7303. (Accessed December 14, 2022.)
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopeadia. “William Jennings Bryan.” Encyclopedia Britannica, September 30, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Jennings-Bryan.
Office of the Historian. “Henry Lane Wilson (1856-1932).” U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State. Accessed December 14, 2022. https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/wilson-henry-lane.