The Wasp — 1893 — page 110: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This 1893 *Wasp* cartoon satirizes Hawaiian immigration policy. A cherub labeled "Hawaiian Applicant" approaches Saint Peter at heaven's gates, which are guarded by an angel—likely representing exclusionist American political interests. The angel holds a magnifying glass and appears rejecting. The base reads "Political Paradise," with "Equal Rights to All Men" posted nearby—highlighting hypocrisy. Saint Peter's quote dismisses the applicant, claiming America already admits "all the tramps of the world." The caricatured faces in the upper left likely represent existing immigrant groups already admitted. The satire criticizes both restrictive immigration policy toward Hawaiians specifically and the contradictory American claim of universal equality, particularly relevant as Hawaiian annexation debates intensified in the 1890s.