Life — January 13, 1916 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "America First: Separate the Goats from the Sheep" This political cartoon depicts five demonic or devil-like figures with horns, labeled with German city names (Berlin, Hamburg visible on their luggage). They're depicted as "goats" that need separating from "sheep" — using biblical language to frame certain groups as undesirable. The caption "America First / Separate the Goats from the Sheep" suggests a xenophobic critique of German immigration or German-American influence, likely from the World War I era when anti-German sentiment was high in America. The devilish characterization dehumanizes German people or German-Americans as inherently foreign and threatening to American identity. The satire appears to mock nativist "America First" rhetoric that sought to exclude or expel perceived foreign threats.