ANGELES UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION

Angeles City
College of Engineering and Architecture

Alfred McCoy’s Political Caricatures of the American Era

A written report in Philippine History

Submitted by:

Irene Basilio

Ave Dennise Dato

Genelyn Phipps

Danimie Panique

Terrence Mendoza

Jester Delgado

Steven Cachuela

Kate Pare

Kurt Sotto

Jabez Sicangco

Mark Adriel Alimurung

Marjorie Hipolito

Patrice Navarro

August of 2019
I. Background of the Author/Creator

Alfred W. McCoy was born last June 8, 1945 in the United States of America. He

became a professor of SE Asian History at the University of Wisconsin where he also serves as

the director of a federally-funded National Resource Center for SE Asian Studies. For the past

thirty years, he has spent his time writing about the politics and history of the opium trade

wherein his first book is entitled “The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia” sparked contreversy

when the CIA tried to block the publicaiton.

Setting aside the issue raised, he still accomplished a lot in his career. He served a

correspondent for the Observatoire Geopolitique des Drogues in Paris and was a plenary speaker

at their conference that was sponsered by the European Community. In addition to that, he

presented a paper on the Mafia and the Asian heroin trade at another conference in honor of

Giovanni Falcone, he was a plenary speaker at the 7th international conference about the

reduction of drug harm in Australia, he served as an expert witness and consultant to the

Canadian Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical use of drugs, and he worked as a

consultant and commentator for a television documentary on the global heroin traffic produced

by the Australian Boradcasting Corporation.

Fascinatingly, the Philippines remains to be is major focus of his research. Some of these

are the investigation of President’s Marcos’s ‘fake medals” wherein it contributed to the

country’s transition from authoritarian rule, the corrosive impact of torture upon the Philippine

military, and the transformative power of police, information, & scandal in shaping both the

modern Philippine state and the U.S internal security apparatus.

II. Historical Background of the Document

The Philippine political cartoons gained full expression during the American era. Filipino

artists recorded national attitudes toward the coming of the Americans as well. There are over

377 cartoons compiled in the book, and these provide a comprehensive background to the

turbulent period. It has gained numerous awards and some of which are the Philippine Catholic

Mass Media Award, Best Book of the Year, Philippine National Book Award for History, and

Gintong Aklat Award.

III. Content Presentation and Analysis of the Important Historical Information Found in the

Document

Political cartoons are an important part in any newspaper. It is a visual medium that

engages the audience hence it gained much importance to people. Although it only takes a small

position in a paper, its purpose creates a huge impact to the readers, for it conveys a lot of

information even if there’s only a limited usage of words.

The “Political Caricatures of the American Era” by Alfred McCoy showcased different

political points that has raised numerous opinion and perspectives from other people. The

emotions behind each cartoon are expressive even if they could be perceived negatively or

controversial at some point.

In order to understand more about the content itself, the following figures would be

presented that were directly taken from the book itself:

IV. Contribution and Relevance of the Document In Understanding the Grand Narrative of

Philippine History

In the Philippines, the presence of political cartoons has been seen as early as the

publication of “Kalayaan” and “La Solidaridad”. Nepomuceno claimed that the commentaries in

newspapers are valid historical instruments given that these works are corroborated by official

documents. Furthermore, commentaries through the sections of the editorial pages are useful in

seeking to see the opinions and views of people on policies which are also rooted on the opinions

and views of officials in the government.

Accounts pointed that the Philippine press has had a love-hate relationship with political

cartoons as only in 1985 has there been a published book on Philippine cartoons. The book of

McCoy and Roces was the first one to legitimize cartoons as sources of Filipino thoughts and

views. Although the book only covered the period of early American through the

commonwealth, it reflected on two cartoons themes which are the anti-American sentiments and

the condemnation of the ruling class.

Since people’s sensitivities are captured immediately through images, the popularity of

cartoons has risen throughout the years. Political cartoons serve as primers for engaging in the

prevailing opinions of that time. One positive effect of political cartoon is that it becomes the

representation of the current conditions of the country.

Future generations will be able to have a glimpse of the past Philippine society through

these cartoons. Also, it serves as a study and reference tool for further generations. Through the

use of political cartoons, people get to visualize politics and appreciate the representations which

are within their world-view.

References

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american-era/

McCoy, A. (1985). Philippine Cartoons: Political Caricature of the American Era. In A. McCoy.

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Cartoons_Political_Caricature_of_the_American_Era_1900-

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