Judge — December 8, 1900 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Judge magazine cover (December 8, 1900) depicts Uncle Sam as an overweight figure struggling with an oversized umbrella labeled with stars and stripes, standing above Washington D.C.'s Capitol building. The caption reads: "This is a dandy little umbrella for this fair weather; but if there should be a **big foreign storm it would never protect me!**" The cartoon satirizes American territorial expansion around 1900—likely referencing the Philippine-American War and recent U.S. imperial acquisitions. Uncle Sam has "expanded" (grown fat) from acquiring overseas territories, but the satire suggests this growth leaves America vulnerable. The small umbrella represents inadequate military/diplomatic protection for these new far-flung possessions during uncertain international times. The artist is Grant Hamilton.