Judge — April 8, 1905 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Carrion Bird" (Judge, April 8, 1905) This political cartoon depicts an eagle labeled "ALMIGHTY" perched over an American cityscape, with text reading: "The emigrants are coming into the U.S. in increasing numbers. The million mark will be reached before the end of the year." The "carrion bird" metaphor presents immigration as a predatory threat—the eagle appears to be a scavenger waiting to feed on the nation's resources. The imagery shows anxiety about early-20th-century mass immigration, particularly from Eastern and Southern Europe. The cartoon characterizes immigrants not as people seeking opportunity, but as a plague or infestation the nation must absorb. This reflects period xenophobia and nativist sentiment common in American satirical publications before restrictive immigration laws were enacted in the 1920s.