The Wasp — 1889 — page 258: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This 1889 *Wasp* cartoon satirizes the Chinese Exclusion Act and its consequences. The figure labeled "CHINA RETALIATES" depicts a Chinese man sweeping away American goods (labeled "TRADE"), while Uncle Sam peers over the "CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT" wall behind him. The satire's point is stated in the caption: "Your retaliation injures yourself more than it does me!" The cartoon critiques American protectionist policy—specifically, how excluding Chinese immigration and trade harmed American commercial interests as much as it harmed China. The broom represents China's economic response to American exclusionary laws. The caricature relies on period racist imagery, but the underlying argument criticizes U.S. policy as economically self-defeating.