The Anti-Immigrant Cartoon

The Foreigners

 

The drawing that is shown expresses how Americans felt about having foreigners in the United States. In the drawing there are many details that give the conclusion about Americans being afraid of what could’ve happened if there were too many foreigners on American land. 

The “Anti-Immigrant Cartoon” (1860) shows two different characters, one being an Irish immigrant and the other being a Chinese immigrant. The two men are shown swallowing a man that represents the United States, Uncle Sam. At the top of the cartoon, the phrase, “The great fear of the period that Uncle Sam may be swallowed by foreigners.” This represents the fear that Americans may have felt towards immigrants. There is also a map shown under the men’s feet, showing the plans that the United States had for expansion towards the west. Even though Americans felt that they were unstoppable, they still had in mind that other groups of people were able to challenge their power as well and get in the way of their expansion and prosperity.