Panama or Bust

This cartoon is about the Panama canal. It pictures President Roosevelt in a wagon that says Panama or Bust. The cartoonist is trying to show that Roosevelt is being very careless when riding to Panama. He is running over big rocks that are labeled problems that the U.S. might come across. The Panama Canal helped the U.S., it let us have an easier access to the different sides of The Americas. I can see why the Panama Canal is a good thing, but our path to get there was harsh. Labeling is used quite frequently in this cartoon, the rocks are labeled as things that stop the U.S. from building the canal, and there are a few much smaller labels. Symbolism is also used a bit in this cartoon, mainly that the rocks in the way of Roosevelt represent the problems that can stop the U.S. from building the canal. This cartoon is very anti-imperialism, Roosevelt is just barreling over things like “International law” and “Colombian protest”. This cartoon shows that he will stop at nothing to build the Panama Canal.

http://www.authentichistory.com/1898-1913/4-imperialism/7-bigstick/1903_Panama_or_Bust-NY_Times.jpg