Question

Whom do the two men seated at the table represent? What does this cartoon suggest about American attitudes toward immigration in the late 1800s? How do you know this? When answering this question use specific details in the cartoon to explain your reasoning.

Answer 1

This cartoon by famous cartoonist Thomas Nast (1840-1902), which he created in 1882, represents two men, called "Fritz" and "Pat," seated at a table and discussing what "color," that is, what race, should be tabooed next, as the caption below them reads, once that the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 had prohibited Chinese laborers from immigrating to the United States. A passage from that federal law appears on the wall behind them.

Fritz, to the right, is a German man. He is holding a mug of German beer and smoking from a traditionally German pipe. Pat, to the left, is an Irish man. He is wearing the typical Irish top hat and vest. They casually reflect upon their future, but, despite their relaxed attitude, they know they might face the same fate as the Chinese laborers, given that both are immigrants. Furthermore, Pat's apparently haughty attitude seems to reveal a veiled concern, since Irish had been traditionally considered inferior to Caucasians and Irish Americans had had to overcome many prejudices.

It is, therefore, possible to conclude by saying that this cartoon suggests that American attitudes toward immigration in the late 1800s were, in part, negative and discriminatory, based on the belief that the white race was superior.

Answer 2

These two men seated at the table represent the Irish , with top hat and vest, and German (smoking pipe and drinking german beer) inmigrants in the 1800s in the US. The cartoon refers to the 1882's Chinese Exclusion Act, which was the first American law preventing the inmigration of an specific ethnic/national group. This can be apreciated in the "New Declaration of indepence" at the back of the cartoon.

The legend in the bottom ("If the Yankee Congress can keep the yellow man out, what is to hinder them from calling us green and keeping us out too?") refers to the raising fear in Irish and German groups of facing the same fate of Chinese inmigrants. This let us know American attitude towards inmigrants who weren't seen as equals and were discrimitated for their origins and skin color.