Judge — May 7, 1898 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Political Cartoon Analysis This Judge magazine cover depicts an Indigenous figure being violently expelled from Cuban soil, labeled "DISPOSSESSED. Moving-day in Cuba." The cartoon satirizes American intervention in Cuba, likely following the Spanish-American War (1898). The figure—caricatured with stereotypical Native American imagery including feathered headdress and raised legs in an exaggerated falling pose—represents Cuba's original inhabitants. The explosion and violent ejection suggest that American expansionism is displacing Cuba's people, much as American settlers displaced Native Americans. The satire appears to criticize U.S. imperialism by drawing a parallel between historical American dispossession of Indigenous peoples and current American actions in Cuba, suggesting America repeats its colonial patterns abroad.