Judge — July 23, 1898 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Judge Magazine, July 23, 1898 This political cartoon satirizes American imperialism and commercial expansion during the Spanish-American War era. Uncle Sam, depicted as a grotesque figure wearing a star-spangled outfit and Uncle Sam hat, is shown as an enormous, bloated character holding a striped balloon or sphere (likely representing the expanding U.S. economy or territorial acquisitions). Smaller caricatured figures—appearing to represent various nations or foreign interests—surround him at the "gateway of commerce," looking on with concern or alarm. The caption "Growing Every Day" and the note about record exports ($1.2 billion during fiscal year '97-'98) suggests the cartoon critiques how American commercial and imperial ambitions are expanding aggressively, with Uncle Sam dominating international trade and territory.