Download Early Presidents

Political Cartoon Analysis on Foreign Policy
Directions: Read the background information for each political cartoon, and then complete the analysis worksheet for
the set of cartoons. IF MORE THAN ONE POLITICAL CARTOON IS SHOWN FOR THE EVENT, ONLY COMPLETE THE
ANALYSIS FOR ONE.
Political Cartoon Analysis
Answer these questions on your own paper for Washington’s Foreign Policy, XYZ Affair, and the Monroe Doctrine.
1. What is the political event or idea referred to within the cartoon?
2. What key person(s) are targeted in the cartoon?
3. How has the artist depicted these people? Are they distorted in any way? Does the artist’s portrayal of the
characters cast them in a negative or positive light?
4. Identify and explain any symbols incorporated in the cartoon.
5. Identify and explain captions, labels, titles and/or speech bubbles. How do these contribute to the cartoon’s
message?
6. What is the message of the cartoon? How is the artist trying to persuade the reader?
7. What impact and/or reaction is the artist attempting to trigger?
8. Identify and explain the use of exaggeration (representation as greater than is actually the case;
overstatement).
After you complete your political cartoon analysis of each topic, choose ONE of the topics (Washington’s Neutrality,
Monroe Doctrine, or XYZ Affair) and create a paragraph explaining your position on the topic-what would your
reaction have been to the policy? Why? Explain
WASHINGTON’S FAREWELL ADDRESS: FOCUS ON FOREIGN POLICY
WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL ADDRESS has long been recognized as a towering statement of American
political purpose and until the 1970s was read annually in the U.S. Congress as part of the national recognition
of the first President's birthday. Although the celebration of that day and the Farewell Address no longer
receives such strenuous attention, Washington's final public performance deserves close attention.
First, Washington warned of "the baneful effects of the SPIRIT OF PARTY." To Washington POLITICAL
PARTIES “were a deep threat to the health of the nation for they allowed "a small but artful and enterprising
minority" to "put in the place of the delegated will of the Nation, the will of a party."
Yet, it was the dangerous influence of foreign powers, judging from the amount of the Address that Washington
devoted to it, where he predicted the greatest threat to the young United States. As European powers
embarked on a long war, each hoping to draw the U.S. to its side, Washington admonished the country "to
steer clear of permanent Alliances." Foreign nations, he explained, could not be trusted to do anything more
than pursue their own interests when entering international treaties. Rather than expect "real favors from
Nation to Nation," Washington called for extending foreign "commercial relations" that could be mutually
beneficial, while maintaining "as little political connection as possible." Washington's commitment
to NEUTRALITY was, in effect, an anti-French position since it overrode a 1778 treaty promising mutual
support between France and the United States.
A British political
cartoon depicting
the affair:
America is
represented by
the woman, who
is being
plundered by five
Frenchmen.
XYZ Affair
The XYZ Affair was a political and diplomatic episode in 1797 and 1798, early in the administration of John Adams,
involving a confrontation between the United States and Republican France that led to an undeclared war called
the Quasi-War. The name derives from the substitution of the letters X, Y and Z for the names of French diplomats
in documents released by the Adams administration.
An American diplomatic commission was sent to France in July 1797 to negotiate problems that were threatening to
break out into war. The diplomats, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry, were
approached through informal channels by agents of the French Foreign Minister Talleyrand, who demanded bribes
and a loan before formal negotiations could begin. Although such demands were not uncommon in mainland
European diplomacy of the time, the Americans were offended by them, and eventually left France without ever
engaging in formal negotiations. Newspaper reports of the demands made by X, Y, and Z infuriated many
Americans, who now clamored for war against France. “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute” became the
slogan of the hour. Gerry, seeking to avoid all-out war, remained for several months after the other two
commissioners left. His exchanges with Talleyrand laid groundwork for the eventual end to diplomatic and military
hostilities.
The failure of the commission caused a political firestorm in the United States when the commission's dispatches
were published. It led to the undeclared Quasi-War (1798 to 1800). Federalists who controlled the government took
advantage of the national anger to build up the nation's military. They also attacked the Jeffersonian Republicans for
their pro-French stance, and Elbridge Gerry (a nonpartisan at the time) for what they saw as his role in the
commission's failure.
The Monroe Doctrine
In October 1823, President Monroe was concerned about Spain reclaiming sovereignty in the Western
Hemisphere. He asked former presidents Jefferson and Madison for advice. They told Monroe to join
forces with Britain. However, Monroe's secretary of state, John Quincy Adams (who would later succeed
Monroe as president), had another idea. Adams thought the United States should go it alone. Whose
advice do you think Monroe followed?
Monroe followed Adams's advice and laid out an independent course for the United States, declaring four
major points in his December 2, 1823, address to Congress. He made four basic statements:
1) The United States would not get involved in European affairs. 2) The United States would not interfere
with existing European colonies in the Western Hemisphere. 3) No other nation could form a new colony
in the Western Hemisphere. 4) If a European nation tried to control or interfere with a nation in the
Western Hemisphere, the United States would view it as a hostile act against this nation. In his Monroe
Doctrine, he said that the peoples of the West "are henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future
colonization by any European powers."
TAKE AWAY: YOU STAY ON YOUR SIDE OF THE HEMISPHERE, WE WILL STAY ON OURS
Louisiana Purchase
George Washington: Neutrality