Life — August 17, 1922 — page 19: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This political cartoon depicts a grotesquely caricatured figure with exaggerated Asian features labeled "WASHINGTON," wearing what appears to be formal attire. The figure is depicted in a threatening pose with an extended arm, while books labeled with American institutions and values (appearing to reference "Boston," "American," "Sea" and "Intelligence") lie scattered below. The cartoon satirizes anxieties about Asian—likely Chinese or Japanese—influence threatening American institutions and values during the early 20th century. The "Yellow Peril" title references the contemporary racist concept that Asian immigration and influence posed an existential threat to American society. The caricature and composition express xenophobic fears about foreign infiltration of American political and cultural centers, reflecting the prejudiced discourse common to that era.