Life — February 10, 1916 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is a satirical map from *Life* magazine (February 10, 1916) titled "MY COUNTRY, 'TIS OF THEE." The cartoon overlays a map of Germany with American geography and city names—Berlin becomes "New Berlin," German regions are relabeled as American states, and "American Reservation" appears in the center. **The Satire:** This is anti-German propaganda created during World War I (before U.S. entry in April 1917). The cartoonist ridicules German territorial ambitions by suggesting Germany sought to conquer and "Americanize" vast lands. By replacing German place names with American ones, the joke implies Germans harbored imperial designs comparable to American expansion or that German militarism threatened American interests. The caption's patriotic reference to the American hymn adds ironic weight to the warning.