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We all know that the United States is a country of immigrants.With the exception of the Native Americans, all humans living in the United States are from or descended from other lands.Surprisingly, however, the country of immigration also has a long history of rejecting late arrivals.What is it all about?
The "paintings" that I will be taking up this time is a piece of political caricature cartoon that deviates a little from the tradition of fine painting.The first major wave of anti-immigrantism in the United States occurred in the early 19th century, in the 1840s.History is ironic.An unprecedented influx of immigrants has caused this wave of anti-immigration.During this period, a potato disease was raging in Europe.As a result, a food crisis called the Potato Famine hit many countries, and many people who had trouble eating flowed into the United States as immigrants.Immigrants from Ireland, in particular, settled in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia in the northeast, causing conflicts with the people who had lived there before.Many Protestant Americans disliked immigrants from Ireland who drank alcohol in the daytime and believed in Catholicism.
Let's take a look at the "picture".The leader of the Catholic Church respected by Irish immigrants is the Pope.It depicts the United States, personified by a man called Jonathan, refusing the Pope's attempt to land in the Americas."This country will not welcome you, freedom is more important than preaching," Jonathan murmurs to the Pope, who is about to disembark from a ship brandishing a sword to spread Catholicism in the United States.Its appearance is a little humorous, and in the sense that it is associated with discrimination, it is also a little scary.In American Area Studies, students learn about the politics and culture of the United States using these cartoons and even book illustrations.
Faculty of International Communication Department of English Communication Professor Yasuo Endo
